Cinderella? Who's That?
by sakuravampire-aqua
Summary: My father died, leaving me with this man and two girls he adopted. I'm a servant in my own home and my father's money will probably end up going to my step-sisters. If only things could change and I could leave this place. Weird how it only takes a little bit of magic and a stubborn prince to change things around.
1. Once Upon a Time

"Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a tiny kingdom. Peaceful, prosperous, and rich in romance and tradition. Haha yeah fuckers! This is fucking Italy we're talking about here!"

"Lovino…"

"Yeah yeah. Anyways. Here, in a stately chateaux, there lived a widowed gentleman with a little son, Lovino."

"Oh that's you!"

"Thank's for pointing that out dumbass, now shut up or I won't tell you the story Feliciano."

"Be nice to your brother Lovi."

"Shut up before you end up out that window. I don't give a flying fuck if we're married or that we're who knows how far from the ground."

"Tough love~"

"Argh! Shut the hell up!"

"…"

"…"

"Where the hell was I? I forgot."

"You were introducing yourself, love."

"Oh, thanks…Although he was a kind and devoted father (who forgot to water the fucking plants) who gave his beloved child every luxury and comfort (because I'm worth it)-"

"You keep interrupting the story by putting your own commentary, love."

"I don't give a fuck! I'm telling it, so I tell it how I want to! Damn!"

"And maybe curse a little less as you tell it?"

"Hell no! Anyways….Still he felt he needed a mother's care (Why? I don't know…) and so he married again…To a guy…Again, why? Seriously, what the hell was up with my father? My dad was so fucking weird. 'Oh you need a mother, so let me marry a man that's slightly more manly than I am.' What the hell man!"

"Lovi~"

"Argh! Shut up! I'm trying to figure out what kinda brain damage my father had to come up with logic like that!"

"Maybe he didn't think you needed a mother, but another parental figure to fill in that gap, love."

"Shut up. I hate when you use logic on me. Continuing on…The man was his second spouse. A man of good family that had adopted two girls Lovino's age, by name: Natalia and Sofia.

"It was upon the untimely death of this good man however that the step-father's true nature was revealed. Cold, cruel, and bitterly jealous of Lovino's badassness. He was grimly determined to forward the interest of his own two (not even blood) daughters.

"Thus, as time went by, the chateaux fell into disrepair, the family fortune was squandered upon by the vain and selfish (greedy and crybaby) sisters, while Lovino was abused, humiliated, and finally forced to become a servant in his own fucking house. What kinda shit is that? I swear…And you know what? I got fouler every damn day because of it too! This isn't a simple fairy tale where it's fucking rainbows every day…I got angry and grumpy and all that bad shit. And it rained sometimes too…"

"Um, Lovi? You're getting sidetracked again."

"Yeah yeah. It's to the part where things began to change anyway, so shut the hell up."

* * *

I was having a really good dream. Sadiq was in it…And he was being engulfed in some flames. Pretty damn good dream too, but no, those fucking birds that always bother me wanted me to wake up…

I ended up smacking one and it hit the wall.

Oops, Elizabeta and Bella are going to scold me. Maybe I can sneak out before those two mice wake up.

"Lovino, shame on you," Elizabeta scolded, coming out of her little hole in the wall.

Bella was behind her, both already looking wide awake. "You shouldn't hurt them. They do help you up here and such."

There's not much to say about those two mice.

Elizabeta was a small mouse who wore a green dress most of the time with a matching green hat. Normally when I went outside, I'd try sneaking a small flower for her back inside, since she really did love flowers. I had a potted plant up in this crappy attic/tower I sleep in just for her in fact…even though I'm not fond of flowers myself.

Bella wore whatever dress she managed to make from scraps of fabric I tried getting for her. Her personal favorite is red, so for the most part she was in that dress, though she did occasionally wear yellow and pink. And she always made sure her hat matched whatever she wore.

Those two were the mice in charge of helping with my own clothes. Without them I'd be stuck wearing Sofia and Natalia's old clothes…They're girls and I'm a guy…That wouldn't work out…At all…Unless they wanted me to be a cross dresser.

They had made my plain light blue pajamas, made of just a button up shirt and simple pants. They also made my work clothes that consisted of a white shirt, black pants, a black vest, and black shoes. Sadiq had no problem with it.

In fact, he encouraged it.

I think it had something to do with the fact that the pants have grown a little tight from my growing. I'm eighteen already, so I doubt I'll grow much more than that…I'm sure it must be slightly upsetting for Sadiq.

"Time for your bath Lovi," Bella cooed.

I let out a sigh before stripping, not bothering to care about any of the mice. The female mice were use to the behavior and just admired the potted plant in my room or set up my work clothes until I was done. The male mice helped the birds in getting the sponge to give me a bath…

Which meant they drenched me in cold water from it.

"Ah fuck!" I hissed. "I hate cold water."

"Lovino!" Elizabeta scolded. "Language."

"I got it from working under that bastard," I growled as I washed myself.

"Yes well, no need to be so crude."

"Yeah yeah."

I finished scrubbing myself then stood up so those birds that seemed to love me could help me dry off. I honestly don't know why all these animals like _me_ of all people, since I'm so foul, but I'm not complaining since they do help me a bit.

After drying off I got into my work clothes, which I still hated ever so much. The things should burn in hell. In fact, forget the clothes. Sadiq should burn in hell. He's the reason I have to wear these things.

"Don't forget to brush your hair," Bella reminded me, nudging the brush closer to my hand.

I picked the brush up, running it through my hair a few times and being careful of my stubborn hair. For some reason I had this strand of hair that just stuck up in a curl of sorts. It never wanted to stay down when I brushed it, though I honestly never wanted to brush it.

That curl is an erogenous zone for me, so any time someone would grab it, pull it, or even touch it, I'd know.

Sadiq gets his entertainment from messing with it and seeing me become flustered. He'd let go before it got too bad, but I had to take care of my 'little problem' before continuing with my chores otherwise Natalia would either throw a fit or laugh (depending on her mood). So then I'd be behind on my damn work. And even though he knew I was busy, Sadiq would go and call for me. Then when I finally got to him-after taking too long-I'd get hit.

Bastard. There is no other words for him.

Well that's a lie.

There's fucking bastard, bitch-though I reserve that one for Natalia, -fucker, and things of that nature.

"Lovino! There's a mouse!" Toris exclaimed, running under my door with Raivis to come find me.

"I know, there's a lot of them in my room during most times of the day," I answered with a roll of my eyes. My eyes went to look at him though. Toris was a scrawny mouse who preferred to wear green over any color, with a matching hat. Raivis was smaller than most mice and wore a dark red colored shirt and slightly lighter red hat. "Now how about you calm down a little bit and tell me why you're talking about a mouse when you yourself are one?"

He and Raivis began talking at the same time.

"One at a time," I ordered.

"There's a mouse stuck in a trap on the stairs," Toris told me…Actually, that's what I ended up hearing through the stuttering/spazzing/whatever. I'm just gonna go ahead and assume that's what he was saying.

"We've never seen him before," Raivis added.

"Bella?"

"Maybe a yellow shirt," she said, going through the drawer I had opened.

I shrugged. "Dunno. I don't think he'd care though. A shirt is a shirt."

"I think an orange hat would work well," Elizabeta suggested to Bella.

I opened my hand for Bella to put the clothes in it. "Time for me to rescue a mouse from that damn trap. Why we have it, I don't know…I end up doing all the cleaning and just let everything in there go anyway."

"Sadiq doesn't know that though," Elizabeta told me as she pat my shoe. "Now go help that poor mouse from the trap."

I did as she suggested and headed down the stairs, probably halfway down from the tower/attic that I slept in.

I saw that Eduard was sitting next to the cage and trying to calm down the ranting mouse inside it. Eduard was one of the smarter male mice, and he normally wore a dark blue shirt and a matching hat.

"Okay, calm down," I told the mouse in the cage as I sat in front of it. The cage had to be turned before I opened the door to allow the mouse to have a way of getting out. "We're not gonna hurt you. You can come out now."

"I'm not afraid of you hurting me," he huffed, walking out. "I'm afraid of getting my feet dirty."

A sigh escaped my lips at the mouse. Thankfully he wasn't another one that was scared of everything, but his fearless behavior with Lucifer -Sadiq's cat- might be the end of him. It seemed like too much of a bother to ask if I could put the clothes on him, so I just did it without his consent.

"Do you have a name?" I asked, poking his belly. He jumped each time I did it, causing me to chuckle.

Eventually he got tired of the poking and swatted my hand away with a huff. The action didn't get the desired effect since I ended up letting out another chuckle at his behavior.

This mouse would be entertaining if I ever got bored in my room.

"Yes, it's Feliks."

"Alright. Toris, make sure you keep an eye on Feliks and show him the way things work around here." I stood up and was about to head down the rest of the stairs before I remembered something. "Oh and make sure you warn him about Lucifer."

And with that, I made my way downstairs so I could feed the animals.

The first animal I had to feed was Lucifer, meaning I had to make my way to Sadiq's room and get the cat out of there.

I can tell you now that it's more difficult than you'd think to get that cat out of there. He's a lazy ass cat that likes making things difficult for me and just plain out ignoring me when it was convenient for him. I ignore him for the most part as well unless its time for his bath or meal. Besides those two things, he's just a rug I want to just smack with a broom. In fact, I do smack him with a broom when he's bad (and when he's trying to eat the mice).

Anyways, this morning was like every other morning.

Open the curtains in the halls, wake up Lucifer and get his milk out for him, stop Lucca-my dog- from having a dream about catching Lucifer and eating the rug in his sleep again, and feed the animals outside (including the mice).

I was going to help Feliks, since it seemed like he was having difficulties getting some food, but then he smacked a chicken in the beak and took the food he had previously been going for. That in itself made me respect the mouse just a little bit more.

"Lovino!" Sadiq shouted through the house as he rang the bell for his room. Not too long after Natalia did the same thing.

Crybaby Sofia just rang her bell with a shout of sorry. If you're going to apologize, why do it? Damn, how stupid can someone be?

"I'm coming!" I shouted up to them.

That didn't stop them.

"Lovino!"

"Damn it shut the hell up!" I shouted as I rushed to get things set up. "I'm coming! Give me a fucking minute!"

"Lovino!" Sadiq shouted.

"If you guys would shut the fuck up for a minute maybe you'd get your god damn food faster!"

I carefully grabbed the two trays for my 'sisters' with one hand and the third tray for that bastard in my other hand. Now let me tell you something about this…I've tried balancing one of the trays on my head before…And ended up breaking that tray, the other trays I was holding, and a vase I was near. That resulted in me never trying that again.

But that was also when I still had a problem with Chorea. A local villager had suggested dancing the tarantella when he saw I had that problem…When I ended up jerking and losing the groceries in my hands with a loud curse.

I thanked him so much when I finally realized that I had been cured. It had made my chores so much easier since I was no longer breaking things right after I cleaned them.

"Here, wash these," Natalia told me when I arrived at her room. "And don't mess with my delicates. I want them back in an hour."

Natalia was a cruel bitch who had a few knives in her room. She's thrown some at me before. Her hair was long and blond and normally had a band in it.

"Yeah yeah," I answered, holding the basket of clothes she gave me in the hand that use to hold her food. My next stop was Sofia's room.

I will admit, Sofia is a very nice girl…She's a crybaby though. Probably the only reason she bosses me around is because her sister tells her to. That's probably the reason she's always crying too, because she doesn't want to be mean. As opposed to her sister, her hair was short, but she also had a hair band in it.

Also opposite of her sister, she had huge ass boobs, whereas Natalia had smallish ones.

"Thank you," Sofia whispered to me as I handed her the tray that belonged to her. She set it on her nightstand before putting her basket of clothes on top of her sister's. "There's no rush for my clothes."

"I'll be taking care of your sisters, so I'll probably do yours at the same time as well."

She nodded and closed the door behind me after I left her room.

Next room is my dear ol' bastard of a step-father, of whom I hate very very much. Yes, I do hate him that much and still hope he dies in a fiery fucking pit of hell. I knocked on his door with my foot and managed to get the door open past the clothes in my hands when he gave me permission to enter.

"The clothes are right there," he grumbled from his spot on his bed.

I set his food on his nightstand before picking up his laundry.

"Hold on a moment with the laundry Lovino."

Times like this kinda freaked me out, because they normally meant some kind of injury. "Yes step-father?"

"Come closer for a moment."

I did as asked, and just as I guessed, I was punched on the cheek. The hit made me stumble, but I managed to keep my ground. If I had lost my balance, the clothes would've all fallen to the floor. That would've been horrible, because it would've resulted in another hit.

"The next time you curse at me you'll get worse. Do you understand me?"

"Yes sir."

"Now get out of my sights." Wordlessly, I turned and headed for the door while trying not to say anything that would result in another injury. "Oh and Lovino?" I glanced over my shoulder at him. "Give Lucifer a bath today as well."

"Yes sir."

And with that I left his room, knowing I'd have a bruise on my right cheek by the end of the day.

Some snickering came from my right. "Father scolded you huh?" It was Natalia, who I wanted to ignore. Sadly, if I did she'd go crying to Sadiq and I'd probably end up with a bruise on my left cheek to match the one on my right cheek.

"Yes."

"Good, you deserve it." She passed by me, hitting my shoulder as she did. The bitch almost made me lose the clothes in my hand.

"I'm sorry for her and our father," Sofia whispered to me before giving me a quick kiss on my bruised cheek.

A sigh escaped my lips. "You make this place just a little more bearable Sofie."

"I wish it wasn't unbearable for you though Lovi. Bye." She took off running after her sister, her huge boobs bouncing as she did.

That girl will knock herself out with those things one of these days if she kept running around like that.


	2. Marriage is Difficult

**AN: This chapter is from Antonio's POV if you didn't catch that in the story.**

* * *

"Ooh! Ooh! It's my turn to tell my little bit of the story!"

"Yeah yeah, just hurry up. More happened with me than with you."

"That may be true, but I had a lot of stuff going on as well."

"Ve~ I love story time."

"Oh shut up Feliciano."

"You're so mean to me!"

"Shut it before I shove my foot up your ass!"

"Love, maybe you should calm down so I can tell my side of the story."

"Fine. Just hurry up."

* * *

"Ah my friend, you must be wed soon," Francis told me. "Your people will be asking for a queen from you."

"You are turning twenty-one very soon," Gilbert agreed.

Both Francis and Gilbert were longtime friends of mine. We had met when I was visiting other kingdoms with my father. Both were high class, though their behavior when we were all together was anything but how we were taught growing up.

Gilbert was an albino man, with white hair and red eyes, but very wealthy. He use to be a knight at one point, but didn't like the thought of dying and leaving the person he fell in love with all alone, so he continued living, as he said, a boring life as a lord.

Francis, with shoulder length blond hair that was quite often in a ponytail and green eyes, was also a lord. He, like Gilbert, had also become a knight even though he was on his way becoming a lord through his father. He had met his fiancée during that time as a knight, when she had stumbled her way through the woods he was patrolling. Apparently her old home deemed her too fragile and too much hassle to care for and sent her off into the woods to die, where she almost didn't make it had it not been for Francis finding and helping her.

Both Gilbert and Francis had actually been knights of their own kingdoms during the year my father was gravely ill, and they finally had enough of that kind of life to quit and just stay only a lord when he finally died. Not too long after my own father's death, their father's died, though we suspect it was murder-possibly from the kingdom my kingdom been at war with- and not an accident.

We never found any proof to prove it though.

"I don't want a queen though," I groaned, letting my head rest in my hands.

Now two years after my father's death, I'm becoming of age and need to find a wife.

"Your father is dead Antonio. You're the only one left able to make an heir. You need a wife."

"You fell in love with another male," I argued with my albino friend.

"I'm not king of a kingdom," Gilbert argued back. "And no one knows Mattie's a male since he wears dresses in public…You know how people are. I was just lucky that you guys didn't hate me for loving him."

"Love is love my friend," Francis assured him. I glanced up to see Francis had his hand on Gilbert's shoulder. "I wouldn't care what gender someone was. I'd love them for their personality, and not for their gender."

"But you're engaged to Jeanne. You don't have to worry about anything…Your love isn't looked down on."

"And both of you aren't king," I reminded them. "Gilbert, you're not expected to have a child. Neither are you Francis. I am." I leaned back in my chair. "I won't lie. I love children, but…"

"A woman is something you don't want," Francis finished for me.

A sigh escaped my lips and I nodded. "Before my father died he had tried to see if Anita and I would've worked out, but you guys know how that goes."

"She's more down to earth compared to most higher class women, I'll admit that." Gilbert pet Gilbird as he was lost in the memory of that time. The little yellow bird was always somewhere around him and was currently on his shoulder. "But I saw your eyes during that time. You weren't happy."

"She's a very nice girl, and beautiful," I admitted. "But…I don't want to marry into something that isn't based on love."

"You're a king," Francis stated. "You'll have a very slim chance on marrying based on love. You'll have to eventually fall in love with the one you marry, and you know that. Your people won't wait for you to fall in love. They'll want a strong kingdom that won't fall apart because their king was waiting for that one special person."

"This is why I told my father I wasn't capable of taking the throne," I told my friends. "I can't do this. I don't want a queen. I don't want a wife. I don't want a loveless marriage."

"You need a queen Antonio. There's no way around that. I'm sorry, but you know it's the truth. As king, you don't have the luxuries others have." Francis set a scroll in front of me, moving my ink and quill closer. "You'll have to choose…Throw a ball. Invite all eligible ladies in the kingdom."

"Make it this week, so that you'll have a month to at least court the young lady before your birthday," Gilbert suggested, leaning against my bookshelf. "Then you'll have to marry her when you come of age. This way you'd at least get to know your future queen better before being forced into marriage. And you can know what kind of woman you'll be living with for the rest of your life."

I groaned. "That's what scares me. I'm fine with women, but living with them is not something I look forward to."

"I agree with you there." Gilbert let out a laugh. "I think that's why my brother and I went after men…Though if you dress up Ludwig's interest, I swear that guy could pull off being a girl…"

"Didn't you say that Ludwig thought he was a girl at first?" Francis asked, turning his attention away from me.

"Well to be honest the little guy does look pretty feminine…I thought he was a girl at first as well."

"Not to be rude, but can we not talk about your brother's love life?" I asked. "He's not being pushed into something he doesn't want."

Gilbert turned his attention back to me. "It doesn't have to be so bad. You'll have many women to pick from. Maybe find one who would be fun to hang out with. You guys can rule as friends instead of lovers."

"That's the same as telling you that you have to live the rest of your life with Francis. I can't have a mistress either, because my people would look down on me, saying that I'm unfaithful to my queen. And my queen would hate that all of my attention, and love, wouldn't be going to her." I groaned, leaning my head back to stare at the ceiling. "I hate this…All of it."

"You know we're going to help you as much as possible through all of this," Francis assured me. "We can't get you out of marriage, but we can do everything in our power to try to find someone that you can try to love in time."

"You don't get it though. I don't love women like that. Most women are so fragile, being accustomed to life in their homes."

"Some men are like that too…Look at Ludwig's bed buddy." Francis was so blunt about his Gilbert's brother.

"I know. And I know not all women are like that…It's just…How do you feel about Jeanne, Francis?"

"Hmm? Oh she's the love of my life."

"That's not what I mean. How do you treat her?"

"Like a delicate flower."

"And she enjoys that doesn't she?"

"She is indeed a delicate flower though."

"And that is something I don't like…I want someone I can be rough with. Women, for the most part, don't like rough things."

"You're not very rough to begin with though," Gilbert stated.

"You know what I mean Gilbert. I want to be able to treat the person I'm married to as a friend as well. I want to wrestle with them, spar in the courtyard with them, hunt in the woods with them…But still hug and kiss them too, and them not think I'm weird for wanting such a thing."

"Sounds kinda like Mattie and I. We'll spar for a little while and then end up kissing in front of the fireplace somehow."

"Alas, I'm unable to do such things with my rose."

"But you see how I feel…It's just…I can't see myself in love with a woman." I chuckled a little bit. "And I'd think it would be easier to make love with my partner if I knew how their body worked. With a male, I know the basics, but with a female I'm clueless."

Both of my friends laughed, in a more carefree tone than a teasing one.

"I know where you're coming from," Gilbert agreed. "Unlike Francis, we haven't been with half of the kingdom's population before finally settling down. We don't exactly know how females work or react."

"I know for the most part how to pleasure a man, being one myself and knowing what I enjoy…With a woman, how do I do that?"

"Ah, you grab her breasts of course," Francis bluntly stated. "They all enjoy that."

"I tripped, fell, and my hand accidentally landed on a woman's breasts once," Gilbert stated. "She slapped me…I'm not going to believe that piece of information you just gave us."

"The point is," I said loudly, cutting both of my friends off from an argument they were sure to have. "Women don't appeal to me. And that's the problem of everything. I want a male by my side helping me rule my kingdom."

Both of my friends were quiet.

"What if they were disguised and you just had a surrogate mother to bear your child?" Gilbert finally suggested.

"How would the man I marry feel knowing I was sleeping with another woman though?" I asked.

That quieted Gilbert.

"How would Mattie or Jeanne feel if you guys slept with another so they could bear a child?"

"How would your kingdom feel if they knew you liked men?"

It was silent after Francis's quietly asked question.

"Do you think they'll accept it? Do you think the guy you'd want to marry would want to live his life making everyone believe he was a woman?" He looked me straight in the eye. "Do you think there's one single man willing to give up his masculinity and way of living, to pretend to be a woman for you?"

"I could make a law that way he wouldn't have to-"

"That everyone must not give your _husband_ dirty looks? That they must treat him as the royalty he would be? You can make them listen to you, but you won't make them respect you."

"You have no idea how everyone in the kingdom is Francis!"

"How about you?" Francis shouted back at me. "How do you know they'll accept that their king doesn't fancy women? You know that the churches already have problems with marrying two men together. Do you think they'll like that their _king_ wants to marry another man?"

"We've had a marriage between two men in my kingdom already Francis! Your kingdom, and even Gilberts, may not be that lenient, but mine is! The villagers didn't treat the men any differently than they previously had."

"Alright, now what about meeting other kings and their queens? Is the man you're going to marry going to want to wear a dress and act like a woman in front of even them? You're talking about stripping the man you love of his dignity."

"Francis!" Both Francis and I looked at Gilbert, who was glaring at Francis. "I understand that you care about Antonio, and you don't want whoever he ends up being with to suffer…But damn, think of Antonio's feelings. Just let the ball happen and we'll see where we can go from there. We'll see who he thinks he may want to marry, be it man or woman. Once that happens, then you can argue with him, but for now drop it. He may end up finding someone who'll do whatever he asks."

"I don't want someone who will just do as I say though," I corrected Gilbert. "I want someone with their own mind. Someone who can help the kingdom."

"You don't want someone who will try to take your rule from you," Francis added.

"Why must you be so negative Francis?" Gilbert asked.

"I'm trying to be realistic here. I want Antonio to see every side of this. I want him to be happy just as much as you do, but I also don't want to watch from the sidelines as he has his kingdom taken away from him."

"That is why you guys gave me that month, isn't it?" I asked. "I can see if the person I chose to wed is that kind of person. You know I can tell how someone is after only a short amount of time, so if I'd think they would try to take over, I could choose another."

Francis sighed. "I honestly hope you can find someone that makes you happy Antonio…And in turn that they can be happy with you as well."

* * *

"Alright, now it's my turn again Antonio, so shut up."

"Lovino, you're so mean to me."

"Don't make that face. You know I can't stand it."

"Make it up to me?"

"Ugh! Fine!"

"Um…Lovi?"

"…"

"Tony?"

"…"

"I'm still here guys…"

"…"

"Fratello, why're your hands down big brother Tony's pants?"


	3. Britannia's Angel

"Are you sure you guys are done fratello? I mean, we can wait a little while longer for you to continue the story."

"Nah, I'm good."

"So good~"

"Shut up Antonio."

"…I could go for a second round though."

"Not until we're done, now shut the fuck up!"

"We're not going to finish this story today, are we big brother Tony?"

"If I have any say in it, probably not."

"You can wait until after dumbass. I told you that today was to catch Feli up, now shut it."

"…"

"Good."

* * *

Sadiq was upstairs, trying to teach Natalia and Sofia 'useful' skills for life…Sofia was playing the flute and Natalia the piano, while both sang. I won't even lie, both of the girls had nice singing voices, but they sucked at the instruments they were using. They were singing a song I remember from a long time ago.

The thing is…I remember an older male that wasn't my father singing that same song. And a little girl I think that was singing with him…Did I live next to a young girl when I was younger?

Anyway, while Sadiq was supervising both girls upstairs, I was downstairs in the foyer. I was busy cleaning the floor with a rag.

Too bad Lucifer and I didn't get along, because the god damned cat decided to dirty up his feet and run around, making a fucking mess.

"You god damn fucking cat!" I hissed at it. "I swear one day I'll make your fur into Sofia's hat!" I had grabbed the broom, fully intending to whack that cat until it flew out of its fur, but sadly a knock at the door stopped me.

"Open in the name of the king!" a voice called in. I answered the door to see a short round fellow. "An urgent message from his imperial majesty."

"Thank you," I told him as I took the letter from him. I closed the door only to hear Toris and Feliks chattering near my feet.

"It's from the king!" Toris exclaimed happily. "What's it say Lovino?"

"Yeah, I'm curious myself," Feliks added.

"I dunno," I told them. "Can't you see that's it's closed? Anyway, he said it was urgent, so I guess I can interrupt whatever kind of lesson they're having up there."

When I reached the door of the room they were in, I could hear Natalia nagging Sofia while the later cried and Sadiq groaning a bit. Now would be as good a time as any to interrupt the lesson, so I knocked on the door.

"Yes?" Sadiq asked, meaning I could go in.

I did just that too.

"I warned you never to interrupt a lesson." Sadiq was calm as he said that, and that worried me just a bit. When he was calm with me, _normally_ that meant I did something wrong.

"This just arrived from the palace-"

"The palace?" Natalia rushed over and pulled the paper from me. Sofia tried reading the note as Natalia was pulling the paper out of the envelope it was in originally.

"I wanna see," Sofia told her sister.

"No."

"I'll read it," Sadiq told both girls, pulling the paper from Natalia's greedy fingers. "Hmm…There's to be a ball in honor of his highness, the king, becoming of age. By royal command every eligible maiden is to attend." He looked up at Natalia and Sofia, the former who seemed more excited.

"That counts as us," Natalia told her sister before glaring at me. "Not you, since you have a dick."

"Now now Natalia. What did I tell you about such language?"

"Well unless Lovino plans on wearing a dress and being a woman he can't go to the ball."

"He could," Sofia argued, looking at Sadiq. "Isn't that right Father?" Why are you calling him 'Father?' Even you know he's not your real father. He adopted you, probably to get the attention of my father so that one day he could get his money…Or molest his child…I'm still unsure which he was aiming for.

Sadiq nodded his head, looking at me. "Indeed, he's allowed to attend, but since he's not a woman, he isn't required to go…Well…we'll see…If you can get all your work done Lovino."

I nodded my head, wanting to leave. You never know, I may find a way to get out of this house by going there.

"_If_ you can find something suitable to wear," Sadiq added right before I reached the door.

"I'm sure I can," I told him. "Thank you step-father." I left the room, heading up to my room.

* * *

"Oh it'll look so lovely on you Lovi," Bella complimented. "You'll look like the most handsome man there, surpassing even the king."

I looked at the clothes on my bed. "It was my father's when he had gotten married to my mother."

"Maybe we can decorate it a little bit so that it looks more like something you'd wear to a ball and less like something you'd wear to a wedding," Elizabeta suggested.

"Lovino!" Natalia called.

"I'm sorry!" Sofia shouted up.

"Lovino!" Shut up Sadiq. I hate you.

"I'm coming!" I shouted down to them before looking at the mice around me. "I'll have to get to trying to work on that later."

I went down the stairs and to the shouting people in the house, only to be immediately put to work. That was honestly no surprise.

Another thing that didn't surprise me was that Sofia kept apologizing and had whispered to me that Sadiq and Natalia didn't really want me to go. That meant that the reason they were doing calling me to do more than usual was because they were trying to find reasons for me not to be able to go with them.

Of course.

I should've figured they wouldn't want me to go.

Natalia wouldn't want anyone to know we were associated at all and she enjoys watching me suffer. Sadiq…

He just enjoys watching me suffer. Plain and simple.

And he may be afraid that if I find a suitable woman to marry that she may have connections and be able to take his money.

Maybe.

I don't know.

I'm not in his mind.

And I definitely don't want to be.

That fucker probably undresses me all the time in his head.

He was probably half my dad's age when they were married, so I don't know what he was thinking. Probably something like 'oh I'm just old enough to adopt some kids and get married and have sex with this guy, and later when his son is older I can eventually have sex with him too. Might as well go for everyone in the family.'

I'd be scared if that is exactly what he was thinking…And more than a little disturbed. The guy would marry someone twice his age and then go for his son when he died-whether from sickness or murder?

I swear if that's what he did, I'm going to be sick to my stomach.

Thankfully though, he's never advanced on me in that sort of way besides pulling my curl.

* * *

At a little bit before eight, I finally finished my chores-of which I rushed to finish- and rushed up to my room to see if I could do something with my suit.

It turned out that the mice, under directions of Elizabeta and Bella, had altered my father's wedding suit. Instead of it being completely black, they had apparently added some gold trimming that I recognized from one of Sofia's old outfits. They also did the same with the vest under it. The white shirt was still the same though.

Those mice…I swear…They just do too much for me.

"Thank you," I told them with a sincere smile as I put it on. When I had finally gotten it on, I looked in the full length mirror I had in my room.

My dad would've been proud of me, seeing me in this outfit. I look older-though still much too skinny- and how I should, had my father not died. I didn't look like I should clean the place anymore.

I looked like I should own it.

Technically I should, if you really think about it. This house was mine before it was Sadiq's.

I walked down the stairs and to Sadiq's room, where I knocked on the door.

"Why Lovino, I see you're dressed up nice," he stated, also looking pretty nice in his outfit. I hate him too much to tell him to his face that he actually looks decent in his outfit. "You've finished all of your chores?"

"Yes step-father. I'd like to be able to go to the ball as well."

"I see…" He grabbed my curl, tugging me forward by it. "Why do you want to go to the ball Lovino?"

My face reddened as he tugged my curl. "Ah. I'd like to go to be able to see things outside of this house step-father."

He tugged the curl again with a grin. "You see things outside of this house when you get groceries."

"But I never get to go to any sort of gathering step-father."

"Lovino!" Natalia screeched, stomping her way through the hall and over to my side as Sadiq let go of my curl. "That's very rude of you to be that way in front of Sofia and I." She harshly tugged the sleeve of my jacket, tearing it right off. Her tugging also pulled at the buttons of my jacket. "You should know better than that to do that sort of thing in the hallway!" The bitch grabbed my jacket, in turn grabbing the shirt and vest under it, and pulled, effectively tearing all three at once.

"You bitch," I growled, reaching to try to grab her neck.

"Lovino!" Sadiq grabbed me around the neck with one hand, stopping me from beating Natalia. "What did I tell you about trying to hurt your sister?"

"She's not my fucking sister," I hissed at Sadiq. "She's some bitch you adopted for whatever sick reason you-"

Sadiq threw me to the floor, glaring at me. "You are not to leave this house Lovino. I want you to clean your sisters' and my rooms by the time we get back tonight. If they are not done, you will be severely punished. Do I make myself clear?"

"You can_ not_ spit, maybe then I'd hear you better," I grumbled under my breath, only to have Sadiq push down on my back with his foot and grab the remaining sleeve of my suit.

"Do I make myself clear Lovino?" He tugged and I heard the seams tearing apart near my ear.

"Yes step-father."

"Good." He looked down the hall. "Sofia! We're leaving! Come here now!"

"Coming!" It took her a few moments before she left her room.

She was, admittedly, dressed as beautifully as her sister. Both girls were in long dresses, Natalia in a dark blue and Sofia in a light blue, and no matter what you did, Sofia's big boobs would always be the main distraction on that girl. She's a big sweetheart…But damn, people will notice those bouncy breasts first.

"Stop looking at my sister you ass," Natalia hissed, pushing me with her heeled foot. She had worn slight heels to be the same height as Sofia, who was wearing flat shoes.

I could do nothing since Sadiq would be furious and probably beat me pretty badly.

"Goodnight," Sofia told me as she followed her sister and adoptive father. She was frowning as she looked down at me, and I just shook my head.

I didn't really want to go anyway.

I just hoped for some way to get out of this hell hole.

It wasn't until I heard the front door close that I actually moved and let out a sigh.

"Fucking bastard."

I slowly made my way outside and to the garden, where I kicked the stone bench.

"That fucking bastard has ruled my fucking life since Father died and left me with him!" I let out a groan as I sat on the still intact bench, resting my head in my hands.

"Why did you have to leave me with him? Why did you have to go and die and leave me alone?"

"Technically you have your step-sister, Sofia, as well," a voice said, causing my head to jerk up and look to my side.

There was a blond, messy-haired man sitting beside me, his legs crossed and huge eyebrows furrowed. He was wearing a loose white outfit that only had one shoulder to it and was tied with a rope near the waist.

"Who the fuck are you?" I growled, jumping up and away from him.

"Oh quiet down you." He waved his hand and a teacup and saucer appeared in his open palm. "Now sit down so I can explain how things are going to work for the rest of the night."

"First, tell me who you are." I stayed wary of him, and didn't sit down as he asked.

This strange man just took a sip of what I assume was tea before answering me. "My name is Britannia's Angel. I'm here to help you out Lovino."

"And how are you going to do that?" I asked him, still not sitting down. If I sat down, who knows what could happen.

"Like this." He set his teacup back into its saucer and it just disappeared. In its place though was a wand.

Britannia's Angel waved it, causing a pumpkin to trot out of the pumpkin patch and grow. As it grew and became a lighter color, he glared at the mice that I didn't know was nearby.

"And you two are going to be horses." After saying that, he pointed his wand at Eduard and Raivis and turned them to white horses that were already harnessed to the now light blue/white/I-can't-tell-in-the-moonlight carriage.

Wow, that pumpkin was pretty roomy now.

"You're going to steer the thing and like it." And with that, Feliks was turned into a human. He had straight blond hair that just barely reached his shoulders and was wearing a pale blue outfit to sort of match the light color of the carriage.

"Now where is that last mouse?"

I pointed down at Toris, who was hiding behind my feet. "He's fragile. Don't hurt him."

"I won't hurt the thing." He waved his wand and suddenly Toris was a human with wavy brown hair that was kept in a low ponytail. He was also wearing an outfit like Feliks. "You're in charge of opening and closing the door, got that?"

Toris nodded his head quickly before rushing over to the carriage.

"Alright, you've made a ride for me, now what about my outfit?" I asked, raising a brow.

"You're not going to like this."

"I don't like a lot of things, what's one more?"

"You'll be wearing a dress."

"What?" My eyes narrowed as I glared at the angel, who glared right back.

"The king is looking for a woman. Someone with breasts and no dick. I can use my magic to turn you into a woman for the night so that you can try to woo him."

"I don't want to woo the king," I stated. "I just want a way to get out of this house. I may not like girls exactly, but they'd be the best way to fight back against Sadiq."

"Yes well, you like men and the king likes men. It works out."

"So why do you want me to be a woman then?"

"Because he's the ruler of the kingdom. He can't be known to love a man. Do you know how much magic it took to be able to convince everyone that your father being with another man was okay?"

"Wait, you're the reason he wasn't hated?"

"He was a great man, and people respected him for it. It didn't take as much magic as you'd think, but still more than I would've liked to use. It was mostly toward the church to be honest."

"Why're you helping me then? And my father?"

"I love a man myself, but he's living, as opposed to me. But I feel a connection to those who wish to love another of their sex, and I will help them to the best of my ability." He waved his wand and I felt my body change in weird ways. As I changed though, so did my outfit.

Once it was all over, I had much longer hair-though my curl remained- and I had grown breasts possibly a little larger than Natalia's…Can't beat Sofia though. I could tell there was also something missing, and it disconcerted me highly.

I was also now in a floor length white gown with a matching choker and elbow length gloves. My hair was also apparently up in a ponytail, minus my bangs which still framed my face as they had before. I lifted my dress to see that I was also wearing glass slippers and a black ribbon around my left ankle.

This was…highly disturbing for me. I looked up at Britannia's Angel, who had a smirk on his face.

"Admittedly, you make a lovely lady. Before you ask, your choker and the ribbon in your hair are also black to match that ribbon around your ankle. I needed things to add to your femininity since I couldn't fix that. Now go, there's not much time left. You have until midnight, and then the magic will wear off." He ushered me into the carriage.

"Ah, thank you."

"You must be back here before the magic wears off Lovino. It's now all up to you, so do not fail." And with that said, he ushered Feliks to start driving.

I didn't know how to respond to that. I wasn't specifically after the king's heart, even though he was very handsome…All I had wanted was to get out of this hell hole.

That was it.


	4. The Ball

"The story is getting better~"

"Feli, if you keep interrupting we'll never finish today."

"This is actually the part where he comes in, isn't it Lovi?"

"Ugh, I don't know. If you two would stop interrupting the story, I'd be able to remember everything, now shut up."

"…"

"…"

"Good. Let's keep it that way from now on."

"Not going to happen love~"

"Antonio! Shut the fuck up!"

"Lovi, you're so mean to big brother Tony."

"You shut up too Feli…"

"But-"

"Do either of you ever listen to me?"

"Hehe~"

"Antonio…I swear…You scare me sometimes."

* * *

"Thank you," I told the mice who were disguised as various beings for my carriage.

Toris smiled and nodded at me.

I made my way down the halls to what I assumed would be where the ball would be held only to see Natalia and Sofia being introduced to King Antonio. I do have to admit that he was very handsome indeed with his short brown curls and deep green eyes.

"Now you may all dance!" a man with blond hair announced once Natalia and Sofia had curtsied to the king. This man was holding hands with a woman who also had blonde hair, though unlike the woman he had his hair in a low ponytail. The woman's hair was a little too short to be put into any ponytail and just stayed down, though it was still beautiful on her.

Before people crowded the dance floor, I saw that the woman had a ring on her finger. That meant she was she engaged or married to the man she was holding hands with.

I was happy for them. Marriage is such a beautiful thing…It kinda makes me feel bad for the king. People have been saying he'll have to get a queen soon since he's becoming of age.

His marriage won't be based on a loving relationship.

I let out a sigh and sat in an empty seat at a table with only one other person at it. This person had wavy blond hair that barely reached their shoulders and a long curl that was in front of their face. I don't know why, but this person, who was clearly a woman by her shape, just rubbed me the wrong way.

"Hello," she greeted, her voice lower than Natalia and Sofia's.

I nodded my head in greeting. "You're here alone?"

She shook her head, before lifting her hand and pointing up at a man with white hair. He was leaning on the balcony and looking down into the crowd. "I came with him, but wanted to relax down here for a while. My friend also came with us, though she's dancing with that man's brother." Her eyes looked into the crowd and I could see the sadness in them.

My eyes widened a little. "He's where His Majesty would normally be. You came with a royal?"

She giggled before shaking her head. "He's a lord in another kingdom, but he's friends with the king."

I smiled at the girl. "You must be lucky then."

That confused her. "How so?"

"Well, that must mean that you can visit between kingdoms very often. You can see the outside world." I let out a sigh as I stared at the table. "What I wouldn't give to be able to see everything you've probably been able to see."

"Oh Mattie~"

I looked up to see a girl with auburn hair, probably a shade or two lighter than my own, that went down to the middle of her back. She had brown eyes and I could see a curl sticking out of the left side of her head. She was wearing a form fitting dress and like the girl I was sitting with, I noticed that she had a higher neckline than most girls here. Does that mean she's taken as well?

"Who's your friend?" this new girl asked, sitting inelegantly in her seat.

"Feli, I've told you about sitting down correctly," 'Mattie' scolded this girl.

"May I have this dance ma'am?" a man asked from behind me, causing me to look up at him.

He had slicked back blond hair and light blue eyes. He was also fairly muscular.

"Alright," I answered with a smile, resting my hand in his so he could pull me up.

"Behave Feli," he told the girl who was talking with Mattie.

"Alright Luddy. Have fun~"

I let the man drag me to the dance floor and began dancing to the waltz that was playing-after the traditional curtsy and bow- before I finally began to spoke. "Are you courting that young lady that was sitting at the table?"

His cheeks turned a slight bit pinker. "Ah yes. But she said she wanted me to dance with others so she could take breaks and talk with her friend."

"Oh, because the one she arrived with isn't dancing, right?"

"Ho-how did you know?" His eyes were slightly wider.

"She had told me that she came with that man standing up where His Majesty normally would. I just assumed he wasn't dancing."

The man nodded his head, his eyes glancing up at the man we were talking about for a second. "Yes. My brother is watching over things tonight."

I shook my head. "Maybe someone should take over for a little while so he can dance with that nice girl. She did seem a bit sad when she looked over at all the dancers."

A hum escaped him. "Yes, you may be right. Maybe I'll relieve him for the next dance."

"That would be very nice of you." I smiled. "I assume they see each other often, but even I know that it mustn't be so often that they can dance together at gatherings such as these if he's keeping watch all the time."

"Indeed."

The song ended and he moved back from me and bowed. I returned it with a curtsy.

"Ah Ludwig, do you mind if I have the next dance with this young lady?" a voice asked from behind me.

I turned to see that it was the man who had announced that it was time to dance.

"Alright. I'm going talk to Gilbert right now."

I noticed a quick meet of the eyes between the two before Ludwig was walking away. Apparently I was now dancing with this man, so I curtsied to him while he did a bow.

"What about the woman you were with?" I asked this man when we started dancing.

"She's resting with Ludwig's dame," he stated, grinning at me.

"So you're dancing with another lady? Does she know?"

He nodded. "She encouraged it."

"I hope you're right, because I don't get along well with cheaters." My eyes narrowed at the man. "I'm not afraid to hunt you down if you're lying."

That surprised him, though the surprise didn't stay on his face long. "I'm being serious. You can even ask my fiancée yourself once this dance is over."

"I just may."

"I must say though, that it is definitely a surprise to hear a woman say such things to a man."

Shit, I keep forgetting that I have to act like a woman. Oh well.

"I'm a different kind of woman if you'd get to know me."

Well, it's the truth to be completely honest. I _am_ a different kind of woman. The kind of woman I am is that I'm not really a woman at all, but a man.

A man who had help from an angel and is currently still very uncomfortable losing a certain part of his anatomy.

It's a very weird feeling getting use to being a woman when you've spent your whole life as a man. I honestly hope this is the only time I'll have to experience this feeling. I'm so accustomed to being one way, and then I'm suddenly forced to walk/speak/stand a completely different way in a matter of minutes.

And how do women walk in heels of any kind? These things are already hurting my feet and just getting up the stairs I think I almost twisted my left ankle twice.

Despite my inner musings, the stranger and I continued talking about little things here and there through the rest of the song, during which I kept seeing his eyes glance over in different directions. He was trying to catch the eye of more than one person, I'm sure of it. What makes me curious is who…and why was he meeting other people's eyes…

When the song was over, I curtsied to the blond while he bowed. I was going to go over and find his fiancée to ask if she did know that he was dancing with another woman, but I was caught by the hand by another person. Does everyone want to dance with me?

I wondered who wanted to dance this time before looking up into the eyes of the man who wanted my attention.

This one was the king.

Oh…

That's…Um really…

It's really unexpected.

I'm not that attractive. I'm just a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"May I have this dance?" King Antonio asked. Even his voice was quite attractive. He must be the man any girl would want.

"Ah, I was going to see if this man was lying about something," I told him, stepping back.

"Antonio, she doesn't believe that Jeanne knows I was dancing with other girls."

"Believe me, she does," King Antonio told me before lifting my gloved hand to his lips and kissing it. "May I have this next dance?"

I looked between the blond and the king. "If I may find out after the dance if this man was telling the truth."

The king laughed and nodded before bowing. I curtsied, giving the blond a glare after doing so.

"You better not be lying. If I find that woman crying, you'll regret it." I set my hand into the king's and we went about dancing to the music that was playing.

Throughout the dance, the king would say jokes, causing me to laugh and lose my footing. He'd help me recover it with a smile every time it happened though so I honestly don't think he minded. It actually also covered up the fact that I was just following his lead since I didn't know how to dance as a woman.

I followed each partner's lead tonight…I just hoped they wouldn't notice the fact I glanced down once in a while to check my footing.

His Majesty had actually distracted me so much that I forgot that I was supposed to be doing something else and ended up dancing with him for a few more dances.

Sadly I was brought out of the temporary bliss when I heard the clock strike the next hour. My head snapped up and looked at the big clock outside one of the nearby windows.

Shit.

It was already twelve.

If I'm assuming correctly, I have until the last chime is done, since I haven't gone to pieces just yet at the first chime.

"I have to go," I told the king, pulling away from him.

"Wait!" he called, chasing after me as I ran away.

Second chime.

"I'm sorry, but I can't!" I shouted, running down the stairs.

Third chime and me cursing these large staircases.

"I haven't even caught your name!" I just barely heard.

I lost one of my glass slippers on the way down, but didn't even bother to stop and pick it up.

"Feliks! Toris!" Both apparently heard me and made sure the carriage was there waiting for me for when I reached them.

"Close those gates!" a male voice I didn't recognize shouted as I got into the carriage and it took off.

We just barely made it as the fourth chime was finishing and the fifth was beginning.

"They're chasing us!" I told Feliks. "Hurry!"

The sixth chime. The seventh. Eighth. Ninth.

"They're getting closer…"

The tenth and eleventh is when everything began to change back into what it once was.

Finally the twelfth is when everything was back to normal, my true gender included.

"Come on guys," I ushered everyone. We hid off the trail and I saw that the guards that were chasing us ran right over the pumpkin that had once been my carriage.

"Thus ends my good night. Sorry for causing you to rush you guys…But thank you for being there for me."

"We'd do anything for you Lovino," Toris told me, patting my knee since I was still crouched down. I was sadly back in my old torn up suit once again.

"You do take care of us," Eduard added with a nod.

"It would've been great if you had more time though," Raivis said.

"Yeah…The king was wonderful to dance with. He was joking around with me most of the time, and he'd make me laugh so much that I'd lose my footing during our dance. Even when I lost my footing he would laugh, and he'd just help me get it back again before causing me to lose it once more. He even made me forget that I was supposed to check up to see if a guy was lying once." I sighed. "I truly hope he wasn't lying. I wouldn't want his fiancée to be crying because he was dancing with another woman."

"For someone who likes men more, you care a lot about women," Feliks stated, wiping some dust from his shoulder.

"Most are fragile and need to be cared for. That's why I'd honestly prefer a man, so that I know that they can care for themselves just as much as I can care for myself. I don't think that'll happen though…Maybe I should just look in the village for a suitable woman since the magic has worn off and I'm now a man again." I pushed my body up to stand up, but as I did, I could tell that something was odd.

The fact that Toris started spazzing helped me confirm that indeed something was odd.

"Lovino look! Look!" He pointed at my foot, which I saw still had a glass slipper on it. "You still have a slipper."

"Not all the magic is gone," Eduard stated.

I lifted my foot and tugged the slipper off with a smile. "Well…at least I have something to remember for tonight." My gaze went to the sky. "Thank you Britannia's Angel…Thank you for everything. I really did enjoy tonight."


	5. I Was a Fool

"You ran away from him big fratello?"

"That's what I just said…"

"But why?"

"Do you listen to anything I say?"

"…"

"Just continue the story love."

"Yeah yeah…"

"Is something wrong Lovi?"

"Nothing happened on my side. It's your turn."

"Really?"

"Yeah. At least for a little while."

"Oh…Yay!"

* * *

"We'll find her Antonio," Matthew tried comforting me while Gilbert was out with Francis and Ludwig, searching for that mystery girl. Jeanne, Matthew, and Feliciano were all still in their dresses from the ball, not bothering to change.

Jeanne put her hand on my knee. "Cheer up Antonio."

"Not good," I just barely heard down the hall.

"Luddy?" Feliciano's head perked up, looking in the direction of the door. I swear he was just like a dog waiting for its owner.

Matthew stood up and opened the door. Eventually the three men we were waiting for came in.

"Did you find her?" I asked.

Gilbert shook his head. "The only thing we have is that glass slipper she left behind. We lost her carriage completely…Not a trace left."

"We couldn't even hear a carriage or any horses besides our own when we stopped," Ludwig informed me.

I sighed, slumping in my chair. I watched my two best friends sit with their loved ones, and Ludwig sitting with his own loved one.

"Well, at least you've fallen for a woman Tony," Francis tried to joke.

"Something about her was off," Matthew stated, looking over at Feliciano.

Feli shrugged. "I couldn't really tell."

"You almost gave yourself away, that's why," Ludwig scolded him. "That's why I offered to dance with the young lady. That way she'd be distracted from your lack of manners."

"I thought you did it because Mattie signaled that she seemed to be what Antonio was looking for," Gilbert said.

"I did it for that reason as well, but I had been planning to talk to her more before asking her to dance. I hadn't wanted to be rude Gilbert."

"That doesn't matter, since we have no idea who this girl is," Jeanne said, causing the brothers to stop arguing back and forth. "Unless any of you got her name, then we won't be able to find her."

"We've all seen her," Francis told his fiancée. "Some of us can go into the village and go to every home, asking for every girl in the house to try on the shoe. If it fits _and_ the girl fits the image we have, then we may find our match."

"I don't know," Matthew said, still doubtful. "I have a very strong feeling that we won't find the girl that easily."

"If you're so doubtful, how about you join them Matthew?" Jeanne asked him. "You were with her the longest besides Antonio. You can probably point her out better than anyone else in here. Antonio can't exactly leave the castle for such a thing, so you're our next best thing."

"Ah love, you're so smart." Francis pat Jeanne's knee with a smile. "What would I ever do without you?"

"Get lost in your own home," she answered with a giggle.

He chuckled along with her. "It was only once and it was when I was a child."

"Is Mattie going to be in a dress again?" Gilbert asked me before looking over at the man he was talking about.

"Are they going to be in the carriages, or are they walking?" Feli asked in my stead. For a man who was easily confused and could be mistaken for a woman at points, he was fairly smart when he put his mind to it.

"I'd think by carriage would be best." I looked over at Feli. "This way all of you would be able to rest and recuperate between households." I sighed. "I have a feeling you'll need that little bit of rest that you can get."

"So who'll go?" Jeanne asked. "We wouldn't want to have too many out there, but I know how some women can be, so we also shouldn't send just one or two."

"Ludwig, Mattie, and I can go with a few guards," Gilbert stated. "You know that my brother and I can handle ourselves on our own. I want to make sure Mattie's safe though."

"I can hold my own Gil," Matthew told my friend. "I'd also like to be out of a dress."

"That wouldn't be smart," I told him. "If anyone else sees you and they had seen you at the ball, they'll begin to think something's wrong and start questioning people that are involved with me. I'm sorry, but you'll have to wear a dress again."

Matthew sighed, but nodded.

"Don't worry, at least this means I can give you a kiss in public," Gilbert told him, squeezing his hand. "I'll make it up to you when we get back home."

"You'll wear a dress instead?"

That caused Francis and me to laugh a little bit as Gilbert blushed.

"If it'll make you happy, then sure."

"Sorry for interrupting something that is embarrassing to my brother, but maybe we should try to decide how we're going to find Antonio's queen…"

* * *

"Ah, the rest isn't all that interesting, just us talking about how we'd go about finding my queen for the rest of the night and some of the guys actually going out and beginning the search."

"Then I assume it's my turn again, right?"

"That it is. Can I have a kiss for my good story telling ability?"

"Yes."

"Aww~ You two are so cute fratello."

"You've gotten your kiss, now let me tell my part again."

"Can I hug you while you talk?"

"…Sure."

* * *

I was now standing in the crowd, having left the house early this morning to get groceries, and reading a proclamation by a Lord Francis.

If I remember correctly he wasn't from here, but in another kingdom. He must be one of the lords I hear about that visits His Majesty from time to time.

I must say I'm jealous of him as well. He could see the lands all around him, as opposed to me, who is barely allowed to leave the house unless it's something for the house.

The proclamation that this Lord Francis had written read as such:

_All loyal subjects of his Imperial Majesty are hereby notified by royal proclamation that in regard to a certain glass slipper, it is upon this day decreed that a quest be instituted throughout the length and breadth of our domain. The sole and express purpose of said quest is as follows to wit: That every single maiden in our beloved kingdom shall try upon her foot this aforementioned slipper of glass, and should one be found whose foot shall properly fit said slipper, such maiden will be acclaimed the object of this search and the one and only true love of His Royal Highness, our noble king. And said Royal Highness will humbly request the hand of said maiden in marriage to rule with him over all the land as Royal Princess and Future Queen once upon the King has reached the age of twenty-one._

The women in the crowd were all chatting happily while I just sighed, sliding out of the crowd.

Good luck finding the owner of that glass slipper. She's gone, far away…I'd tell them that, but then they'd know I know who she is and probably throw me in jail for not telling them.

Does that count as treason if I'm hiding my identity and won't tell them because I don't want to be found? It's my own identity. I think I'm allowed to hide it from everyone, including the king, if I so choose to. The king wouldn't want someone as lowly as a servant anyway.

A male servant no less.

I refuse to allow the king to taint his name by marrying another man, even if Britannia's Angel had given me the chance to make my life happy.

I'm a sour bastard. I don't honestly deserve someone as carefree and happy as His Majesty. I should be polishing his shoes or caring for his horses…If I was even _that_ lucky.

I hate myself…

And Sadiq.

Whatever.

I made my way back home, not bothering to care about the fact that people will be searching for me-or at least my female self- through the village while I'm busy cleaning the house.

"What took you so long?" Sadiq asked once I was back at home. He was looking around for something. "Where were you?" And before letting me answer, he asked another question. "Where're Sofia and Natalia?"

He was here while I was out getting groceries, and he's asking _me_ where those two are? Why ask me? He would've had a better chance of seeing them since he actually _was_ here. I sometimes wonder about his intelligence.

"Probably still in bed," I answered with a shrug. "It's quiet around here so that's what I'm assuming."

He glared at me-probably because of the honesty and bluntness to my answer- before climbing the staircase to go find the girls. "I'll have to wake them up," he mumbled to himself before glancing at me. Correction, _glaring_ at me. He doesn't look at me with anything less than a glare for the most part. If it's not anger in his eyes, it's annoyance. "Bring up the breakfast trays." I didn't move immediately, causing him to shout at me. "Now!"

I rushed in the direction of the kitchen to make a quick breakfast of some biscuits and tea. It was put all on one tray, since it'd be going to the same room.

When I made it to Sofia's room, I heard Sadiq telling Natalia and Sofia about the glass slipper and how everyone is talking about it. Apparently no one, not even the king, knows who the mystery girl is, and their only clue is the glass slipper. And if they find someone that fits the slipper, that girl will be the king's bride.

Tough luck King Antonio. You won't find her.

"His bride?" Natalia asked. "He's a handsome man…I think he would do as a suitable husband." She got off of Sofia's bed. "Lovino, come with me. As much as I hate to say it, I need a young man's opinion on my dress. Father can help Sofia."

"Yes Natalia." I obediently followed her out of Sofia's room and toward Natalia's room. If I complained, Sadiq would probably just lock me in my room or something. I already pissed him off enough today.

Eventually Natalia was satisfied with her outfit and kicked me out of her room. I made my way up to my room, grabbing the slipper I kept hidden in my drawers and slipped it into my shirt, near my stomach where I ended up untucking my shirt a little so it wouldn't show if anyone saw me.

I made my way back downstairs, hearing Natalia chatter with Sofia about the king. Sofia wasn't happy about doing this, but Natalia and Sadiq wouldn't let her get away with not trying on the shoe.

By the time I reached the kitchen I heard the front door opening. Sadiq would be displeased that I hadn't answered the door for him. Oh well.

He already was displeased I took a while to get breakfast, and being out of the house to get groceries…And living.

I grabbed a broom and dustpan on my way out to the backyard and set them by the kitchen door. I untucked my shirt and stared at the glass slipper that was now in my hands.

"It was a wonderful night…And I did meet some nice people." I released a sigh and walked near the stables to set the slipper on the ground.

I crushed it under my shoe, trying to muffle the noise so no one inside the house would hear. When I moved my foot, all that was left was the shattered remains.

That's all that needed to remain of it _and_ my memories, shattered pieces.

It may have been a wonderful night, but I'll regret it for the rest of my life…Because nothing would make me as happy as I was last night.

"I was a fool."


	6. Brother My Brother

"I knew that you weren't really a woman last night."

I turned my head to see that same girl I had spoken to at the table standing in the door of the kitchen.

Shit, she knew too much. She knew that I was the 'girl' that the king was looking for.

Without really thinking, I turned away and took off into the stables.

"Wait!" she called, and I heard her running after me. "Gilbert! Ludwig! Come help me! Ugh! Stupid shoes!"

I glanced over my shoulder as I pulled open the stable doors to see the woman huffing in anger as she pulled off her shoes. Duilio, my dark brown horse, neighed as I opened his gate and quickly saddled him. I jumped up on his back and dug my heels into his sides to make him run out of the stables and past the woman who was now right next to the stables.

"Wait!" she tried shouting to me.

Another glance over my shoulder allowed me to see that she was actually running, trying to catch up with me. Two other men, both of who I recognized ran out of the kitchen behind her.

One was the albino man with white hair that had been in the king's balcony and the other was his brother that had asked me to dance.

"We're leaving the village Duilio," I told my stallion.

Duilio was my favorite horse to care for, mostly for the reason that he was mine. I've had him since before my father died, and he's so gentle with me. The other two horses we owned weren't mine and didn't exactly like me so much. They were in the other stables, away from Duilio.

The stallion beneath me neighed and ran through the foliage of our back yard to get to the forest. Just barely I could hear the yelling behind me back at the house.

"We're leaving our home buddy," I told the horse, ducking my head so I wouldn't hit any low branches. "We'll no longer be living life like we have been…"

Duilio neighed again as he ran, dodging trees here and there.

"We definitely need to lose those guys that are sure to chase us Lio." I rubbed the side of his neck. "If you can keep this going for as long as possible that'd be great. And then we can try to take a break at midnight tonight. If those men have been searching all night, they'd be dead tired by then."

If they actually give up…His Highness does have many guards.

And I'm not sure how much he actually wants me, but to be honest, I'm not even worth the amount that they had sent out. Hell, I'm not worth even one guard trying to get me.

"Stop!"

I turned my head, seeing the woman who had known that I was a man. Her legs were on each side of a horse and her dress was torn on both sides to allow her to sit as she was.

"Shit!" I turned my head forward again and dug my feet into Duilio's sides.

That woman was on Kaliya, Natalia's light brown mare. Kaliya was faster than Duilio unfortunately, seeing as how Natalia had wanted her trained to be as fast as possible…Kaliya was a racing horse.

Duilio wasn't.

"Please stop! His Majesty is looking for you!"

"No he's not!" I called back, almost hitting my head on a passing branch. "You have me mistaken for someone else!"

"Then why are you running?"

I didn't answer, recognizing the changing scenery around me as Kaliya was nearing Duilio and I.

Oh shit not good.

"Duilio! Turn now!"

The woman tried grabbing at me as Duilio turned to the side.

She grabbed me alright.

Right before the horses became tangled in trying to turn from the large hill we were now going down.

I pulled the woman to my chest as we rolled down the hill, trying to make sure we weren't crushed by the panicking horses. When I rolled her away from the horses as we tumbled down the large hill, my back ended up being pushed against a large rock.

I'm not exactly sure of the last time I've felt pain like that, but I knew that pain kept shooting up my spine each time my back touched the ground.

Eventually we reached level ground and finally stopped rolling.

I couldn't be happier. My back was hurting so much.

"Thank you," the woman told me with a pink tint to her cheeks.

"No problem," I answered, wincing as I pushed my body to stand up so I could check on the horses. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine," she answered. "Are you okay? I heard you yelp when you pulled me out of the way of the horses."

Duilio had hurt his front right leg and Kaliya didn't want to put pressure on her back hind leg.

"Watch the horses," I told the woman.

"Where're you going?"

I didn't answer her, slowly making my way farther into the forest.

"You can't try to walk," she told me. "You can barely hold yourself up."

"His Majesty can not find me. Please…Just leave me alone and take care of Duilio. He means a lot to me." I never once stopped walking away as I spoke.

"It's not safe for you to walk around."

"It's not safe for me to stay here."

"Mattie? Mattie!"

"Gilbert! I'm down the hill! Please be careful!"

Love must be a nice thing to receive from another human. True love. Not sympathy from someone who sees you suffering. And not mice.

I'd love to experience love…But not with a king who is being forced to marry someone. I won't let him suffer because he wants to marry me, thinking that I'm really a woman.

That angel may say he likes men, but he was looking for a woman.

I'm not a woman. He's not looking for someone like me.

He may be deceived by the happiness I had for one night, but I won't let that cloud his judgment. What I did was stupid.

Absolutely ridiculous…His Majesty is now chasing a woman that never should have existed. All because I wanted to have one night of happiness.

"We have to catch him Gilbert."

He was already at the bottom of the hill? "Shit." I glanced at the tree I was near, deeming it climbable.

I climbed high enough in the tree that the branches concealed me. Anyone who passed under me wouldn't be able to find me.

Not too long after, I saw that blond man pass under me, on a horse of his own. Maybe it was one from a carriage, because I definitely didn't recognize it.

That and it was white.

Our last horse was a black stallion with a shitty attitude. He lets no one except Sadiq on his back.

"Are you sure the person we're chasing is the one we're looking for Mattie?" a male's voice carried up to me. "From what I saw that was a male. At the party, the one the others were dancing with, and even you were talking to, was a woman."

"It was the same person. It was a man Gil. Antonio was dancing with a man."

"No wonder he seemed so attracted to his dance partner. I've never seen him like this before."

"We have to find him…For Antonio. You know he doesn't want a woman, and this man can clearly dress as a very convincing woman. Antonio can be happy Gil."

"I know…You know I want him to be happy as much as you do. We can't do that though if we can't catch the person…And from what's happening, I don't think it'll matter if we catch this man or not. I think he'll fight us _and_ Antonio." It was quiet for a few seconds. "Do you really think Antonio will be happy, seeing the person he wanted to marry doesn't want to marry him?"

They began talking quieter, so I was no longer able to hear their conversation for the next few minutes.

"Guys! Are you down this hill?"

"Feli?"

"Mattie! Hold on! I'm coming down there!"

"You were supposed to wait up at the castle with the others! Why're you here? In your dress no less!"

"There was a guard that got information back to the castle really quick. Apparently one of the guards managed to get that mystery person's name-the one we were looking for- out of the people whose house you were just at!"

"Slow down Feli!"

It was quiet for a minute or so before there was some thudding. This Feli woman must've finally reached the bottom of the hill.

"His name is Lovino. I remember Grandpa Roma talking about a Lovino once. I have to see him."

This person knew me? I didn't know a Feli though…

Did I?

No.

Not that I could remember.

"Feli, go back to the guards at the house," Gilbert-from what I'm assuming since he was called as such- ordered. "You and Mattie take the horses, since they're injured. I'll wait for Ludwig and we'll ride the horse back to you two."

"But-"

"No buts Feli. You know Ludwig would be upset knowing you were in the woods, where there are wild animals that could hurt you."

"I can protect myself Gil." From her tone of voice, I could just imagine her crossing her arms. "I'm a man too. So is Mattie. We can both hold our own out here."

Wait…What?

Those two girls I had met at the ball…weren't actually girls at all. They were men, just like me. They had high collars because they were men and didn't have cleavage to show, not because they didn't want men staring.

How many women at that ball were actually women?

"We wear the dresses for you and Luddy…We care about you two…But we're not as weak as you think."

I want to actually talk to that…man I assume…

Is my curiosity peaked so much that I'll risk being taken to the castle?

The branch I was on was beginning to crack, meaning I had to get my ass off soon or I'd fall a nice distance to the ground. Instead of falling to what would more than likely end as another injury, I climbed down a few branches.

Sadly, that caused me to break a few branches and make noise loud enough for the people nearby to hear.

"Lovino?" Feli asked. "Is that you? I want to talk to you."

I can't deny it…I'm curious.

"If I talk, I want to talk only to you!" I called down to him.

"Okay!"

I began climbing down the tree as carefully as I could, hearing Mattie tell Feli that I had injured myself when we rolled down the hill.

"I promise I won't bring you to Antonio," Feli called, and I heard footsteps getting closer to the tree I was in. They continued getting closer as I was getting closer to the ground.

When I glanced down, I saw that it was only Feli at the foot of the tree, looking up at me with a smile on his face.

Without asking he helped me get down from the tree. I immediately-and carefully- sat on the ground and looked up at Feli. He took the hint and sat down, just sitting right on his dress.

Yeah. He has to be a man.

"Who are you?" I immediately asked him as soon as he was sitting.

"Feliciano Veneziano Vargas. I can't tell you my grandfather's full name because he never told me it…He asked me just to call him Grandpa Roma. I don't know much about my mother and father, but Grandpa said that both were great people."

"How do you know me?"

At this, Feliciano smiled. "Grandpa has told me once or twice about a young boy his son took with him by the name of Lovino. He had left me with my Grandpa because his son's wife was slowly becoming sicker. They couldn't take care of both, so they took their oldest son. Grandpa Roma had said his son had wanted his two children to meet, but hadn't gotten the chance. He had lost all contact with his son after a while."

"My father died," I stated, looking away. "He had remarried to another man not too long before he himself became ill. My step-father 'cares' for me now. Or at least he did." A sigh escaped my lips. "I'm not returning to that house that I can't even call home."

A hand touched my knee, causing me to look at the male sitting before me. "Home is where the heart is."

"Too bad my heart died when my father did."

"Make a new home. Find a place where you're loved."

"I'm not going to the king."

It was Feliciano's turn to sigh. "I wasn't asking that. Antonio would be overjoyed to be able to speak with you again, that much is true. I was offering you a home with me. Grandpa Roma would love to hear that you're still alive."

"I…don't know…"

"We can find out the truth together…" Feli moved his hand from my knee to my hand. "We can ask Grandpa Roma if we really are brothers."


	7. Finding Family

"Aww, I remember when that happened Lovi. I had rushed on Antonio's fastest horse to get to the forest and the only time I stopped the horse was when I got off of him to run down the hill."

"I had been wondering why you left so quickly after that guard had said Lovino's name."

"I had to meet the person who had the same name as the Lovino that Grandpa talked about. I wanted to find out if it was the same person."

"Okay, I'm trying to tell a story you two…"

"Oh, I forgot."

"Already? Do you ever listen to me?"

"Don't be so mean to Feli."

"Oh shut up and let me continue."

* * *

"I promise I won't bring you to Antonio. We'll need to stop at the castle so I can get my things though."

"I'm not going to the castle." I wouldn't budge with that. If I went to the castle, there was a chance the guards wouldn't want me to leave.

Feliciano sighed, nodding his head before standing up. He held a hand out to me. "I took one of Antonio's horses. I'll just ask Matthew to tell Ludwig to grab my things…I can return the horse later."

"Where is it?"

"At the top of the hill."

"Alright…" I took Feliciano's hand, allowing him to help me up. It took a little bit more effort than it should, since I also needed to use the tree next to me to finally get up.

"Will you be alright riding a horse? We'll be riding for a while."

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

As we walked, Feliciano didn't let go of my hand. He also slowed his walking to match mine.

"Mattie, can you tell Ludwig to grab my things at the castle?" Feliciano asked as we were within earshot of the other crossdressing male. "And apologize to Antonio for taking the one he was looking for."

"Wait, what's going on?" the albino asked, looking between my supposed brother and I as we slowly made our way up the hill.

Feliciano looked over his shoulder. "Ah, I'm taking Lovino back home…We have catching up to do, and I'm sure Grandpa Roma would love to meet him."

I stumbled a little, but Feliciano helped me regain my balance again.

"I don't get it," Gilbert said. "Why would your grandfather want to meet him?"

"We want to find out if it's true that we're brothers."

And with that, it seemed the conversation had ended since the only thing I heard was my and Feli's footsteps as we made our way up the hill.

"Do you want to be in front of me or behind?" Feliciano asked when we were getting closer to the top of the hill. "I don't know which would be best for you in the saddle since Mattie said you hurt your back."

"I can sit behind you and just hold you."

He nodded and when we finally reached the top of the hill and the white horse, he asked, "Are you going to be able to climb on by yourself?"

"Yeah."

Feliciano got on first, after tearing his dress on each side so he could sit normally, and with some difficulties I finally managed to get on behind him. "Ready?" He looked over his shoulder at me.

I put my arms around his waist-which seemed to be just as small as my own- and tucked my head into his back before nodding. My head was turned to the side a little though so that I could see where we were going.

Feli had turned the horse and ridden back in the direction we had come from when I was running from Matthew.

"Tell me about Grandpa Roma," I told him after a few minutes of quiet riding.

"I'll wait until we're out of your village for that, so that we have something to pass the time."

"Alright…Then tell me about yourself for now. If we really are brothers, I want to know more about you."

"What would you like to know about me?"

"Why are you wearing a dress?"

That caused the male in front of me to laugh. "Out of anything, you want to know that? You do know that you were in a dress as well when we first met." Despite saying that, he did answer my question. "It's not exactly something people like, seeing two men together I mean. More often than not, when Mattie and I are out of our homes, we're in dresses so that people think we're women. With us in dresses, we can love the men we love without receiving harsh criticism. And we will be able to be married if people believe we're women. Now why were you in a dress?"

"You wouldn't believe me, even if I told you."

"I believe a lot of things," he said in an upbeat voice. "I'm sure I'd believe what you tell me as well."

"Someone called Britannia's Angel came to me when it turned out I couldn't go to the ball, even though all I wanted was one night out of that hell hole of a home. He turned me into a woman with magic, and even changed my clothes. By midnight, the magic would wear off, so I had to leave no matter what."

"That would explain why you wouldn't stop for even the guards."

"To be honest, it wasn't my intention to catch the attention of the king. I originally wanted to go as a male and maybe find someone I could call my wife in the future. And then when I was a woman, I figured I wouldn't be able to do that, so I'd at least have fun. I enjoyed the time I spent with His Majesty, but he needs a queen, not another man. I'm not ruining someone's life just for my own happiness."

Feliciano was quiet for a while after I finished speaking. When he finally did say something, it surprised me. "I know all I need to know about you Lovino…You're such a caring man. No wonder Antonio fell for you."

"He barely knows me. How can he fall for me?"

"Ah, who knows…Maybe magic had a hand in it?"

"He needs to love on his own, without magic. A relationship that wasn't based upon love from ones heart isn't a relationship at all."

Feliciano leaned back a little bit with a little laugh. "I was joking Lovino. It's a nice change seeing someone else who thinks of love as such a pure thing. You have no idea how often Mattie and I will go out in our dresses and hear so many men say things about love. We were beginning to think very few men saw love as we did."

"I've lived most of my life without love. I know what is fake and what is real by now."

We rode in silence for what must have been at least half an hour before Feliciano started speaking again.

"Now that we're out of your village, I guess I can talk about Grandpa Roma…But honestly, there isn't much to say about him. He's very popular with the ladies, and he still looks like he would be at the youngest thirty. He loves cooking pasta for me. Grandpa use to be a knight for Antonio's father, but he had to retire from that when his body was becoming too scarred. I think he was afraid that he was becoming weak, and if he died, I'd have no one…"

"You have me now."

"And that makes me happy."

We continued talking about different things for the rest of the day and well into the night.

"Are you sure you don't want to rest for a moment?" I asked Feliciano.

"We're almost there," he told me over his shoulder. "You can meet Grandpa and he can make us a late supper before we go to sleep."

"Alright. I'll be glad when I can relax again. My back is killing me."

"Only a little while longer."

And he was right about that, because not too long after, we reached another village. He stopped the horse in front of a decent sized house and pet its head.

"There's a pond right there," he told the horse before pointing at a pond a little bit off to the side. "Drink up. You've earned it." Feli climbed down first then helped me down and to the house. "Grandpa, I'm back a little early!" He opened the door and I could see the inside of the house. It was warm and inviting and just looked beautiful to me.

"I thought you'd be with everyone longer," a man's voice sounded from somewhere in the house. "You were so excited to see the king again after all."

I saw that Feliciano was taking his shoes off, so I followed his example and set my shoes next to his own.

"Some things happened. Have you eaten supper yet?" My hand was grabbed and I was being dragged somewhere into the house.

"Not yet. I was about to eat some pasta I had made earlier. Would you like some?"

I saw that I was being pulled into a kitchen right before I was actually pulled into it. "Only if Lovino can have some too."

"What're you talking about?" a tall man asked at the counter. I could see from the back of his head that he had short brown curly hair with two small curls that stuck out, one on the top and one on the side. He turned his head to look behind him. "Who's this?"

"Lovino Romano Vargas," I answered. "I'd bow, but I've injured my back and it hurts do bend in such a way."

"Wait…Lovino?" I saw recognition in his eyes. "Fons Vargas's son?"

"Yes."

The person I assumed was my grandfather turned away from the counter and took a step toward me. "How is my son? I haven't heard from him in many years."

I shook my head. "He died a long time ago after remarrying. I've been with the man he married ever since."

"I see…So he remarried…" He sat down at the table, motioning to another seat for me to sit as well. I did so, sitting across the table from him, with Feliciano sitting next to me. "How's the man treating you? You look skinnier than even little Feli here."

"He's treating me like shit," I admitted. "I highly doubt that Sadiq even wants to see me again after what I did. And if he does see me, I doubt anyone else would see me again."

Apparently the man that was my grandfather frowned. "He doesn't…treat you well?"

"I'm a slave in my own home. I do all the cooking, cleaning, caring for the animals. I do everything…Sadiq and his two adopted daughters don't lift a finger. And they're fighting over the money father left for me. Well, Sadiq and Natalia are. Sofia really doesn't like how I've been treated, but she's always being ordered around by Sadiq and Natalia to make my life hell. She thankfully tries to make things as easy as possible when it comes to helping her."

"And you wear that all the time?"

I looked down at my outfit. It was my work outfit that was slightly tight on me. "Yeah. Normally it's not this dirty, but I fell down a hill this morning."

"It's a little tight on you."

"I think Sadiq likes it like that, if the look in his eyes says anything."

I hate seeing sympathy in people's eyes, and now I saw it in both my brother and grandfather that I hadn't known were still alive until today.

"Please don't look at me like that…I hate sympathy. I've seen it from Sofia for years. I don't want to see it anymore." I sighed. "I just would like to rest now."

"I'll make you a plate of spaghetti while Feli runs your bath. You can sleep in the guest room if you'd like."

I smiled at my grandfather. "Thank you. Even the sofa would suffice so you wouldn't have to fix up another bed."

"My grandson that I haven't seen since he was born will not sleep on the couch. You will sleep in the guest room. We can fix it up for you if you'd like so that it could be your room. Feli go run the bath." A room that wasn't in the attic? Taking a bath with warm water and that wasn't in a bucket?

This was just so nice.

"Alright Grandpa."

Feli got up and left the room as our grandfather walked to the counter and grabbed the plate he had made for himself. He set it in front of me. That was quite a bit of food on it. "I want you to eat all of that."

"I'm not sure I can…"

"Eat as much as you can then. I want your belly to be full for when you go to sleep."

I nodded, staring at the plate in front of me for a moment.

"Is something wrong Lovino?"

I shook my head before grabbing the fork. "Thank you…For everything." I took a bite or two of my food before feeling a hand on the top of my head.

"Anything for my grandson."

He made himself another two plates, one I assume was for Feliciano, and began talking with me. He'd ask simple little questions, such as my favorite color or my favorite foods, probably just because he wanted to get to know me.

Normally, it'd bother me if someone was trying to talk to me while I was eating, but that was when I didn't know how much time I had to eat before I'd be forced to do so many chores that I couldn't eat till it was almost time for bed for me. The time I normally ate was normally fairly close to midnight. This time though, my grandfather was graciously feeding me as much as I could handle, and he was just talking to learn as much as he could about me.

It definitely was pleasant.

When it came to my bath, Feliciano kept asking me if I needed anything as he stood outside the door. I had told him halfway through my bath that it wouldn't bother me if he was in the bathroom while I bathed. For some reason, I just never had a problem with nudity.

He did the same as our grandfather, asking random questions to get to know me. I questioned him a bit as well, asking about this 'Ludwig' guy he kept bringing up.

Apparently he met the guy a little bit after he had moved in with Grandpa Roma. Ludwig had thought Feliciano was a girl at first until he talked with our grandfather, only the past year or so ago, to be able to court my brother. After a week or so of confusion on both parts, Ludwig on if he still wanted to court my brother even though he was a boy and my brother on why Ludwig was avoiding him, they ended up together.

We would've continued talking about different things, but sadly I was beginning to fall asleep in the tub and the water was getting a bit cold.

I didn't even notice any of it either. It was Feliciano who noticed everything. He urged me to get dressed, of which I ended up in some of Grandpa Roma's old clothes that was loose on me. It was a nice change, being in clothes that were loose on me instead of tight.

"Goodnight boys!" Grandpa Roma shouted up to us, apparently hearing the bathroom door open.

"Night Grandpa!" Feliciano called down to him.

"Goodnight!" I called as well as I followed my brother to a plain room.

"You can paint the room or anything you want to do with it. We want you feel at home here. You're family and you needed to be treated as such." He seemed to hesitate at the door as I walked over to the bed and sat on the side.

"Is something wrong?"

"Um…can I sleep with you?" Feliciano was fiddling with his fingers and looking down at the floor. "I know we just found out we were brothers today, but I'm afraid of waking up tomorrow and finding out that I was just dreaming."

I nodded, crawling under the covers. Feliciano didn't hesitate to run to the other side of the bed and crawl in behind me.

"Um, can I hold you?"

I laughed a little, moving back a little. "Sure."

I don't remember the last time someone held me while I slept, but when my brother held me I realized how much I missed it.


	8. We're Not That Alike

"I remember this point in time fratello. I had woken up and was so happy that I wasn't dreaming."

"You and I both Feli. Now you two be quiet and let me continue telling the story."

* * *

I don't know how long I slept, but when I woke up, I realized that I was alone.

Was it all a dream?

My eyes were heavy, but despite that, I opened them up to see that my room was fairly bright for so early in the morning. Was it that sunny outside?

Another glance over the room told me that it wasn't actually the room I had grown to call my own room. This was another room completely. The one I remember seeing last night.

And the reason it was bright in the room was because the sun was already up. I've never slept this long. It's definitely a nice change.

Normally I'd be up as the sun was rising, giving me only a few hours of sleep.

The only question I had right now was, 'Where is Feliciano?' He had wanted to sleep with me last night. Did he already wake up?

I got out of bed, fixing it after I did so. When that was done, I made my way down the stairs to the kitchen to see if I could find the other two people in the house. The house was completely quiet, and the kitchen was empty.

While in the kitchen though, I saw through the window that the two people I had been searching for were in the garden that they apparently had. It was a very nice garden too. It looked as though it was cared for every day, which it probably was.

Did they grow most of their own food?

In the long run it's a bit cheaper growing your own food instead of buying food all the time…And they get to go out into the sun and garden.

I don't think I'd mind living here.

Maybe it would be nice if I made them some breakfast…Or lunch. I think it's closer to lunch than it is to breakfast.

I glanced around the kitchen, looking for a recipe book. I couldn't find any though, meaning I couldn't figure out what type of foods they liked to eat in this house. Instead of just standing there though, I went to the refrigerator and opened it, trying to see what they had.

Last night they had eaten pasta, so maybe I could make my own version of the dish in the time they'd be in their garden. If I made pasta, there was a chance they'd come in halfway…Though I don't think they'd mind seeing as how I'll be making food for them.

With the meal decided, I got started by getting the ingredients.

I was almost done with making the pasta when the two other occupants of the house came inside.

"Something smells good," Grandpa Roma said from near the door.

"Hopefully you two don't mind having an early meal. I wasn't sure if you'd want a late breakfast or early lunch. Obviously I ended up with an early lunch and made some pasta."

"You didn't have to do that," Feliciano told me, coming into the kitchen.

"If I'm going to stay here I'd like to pull my weight. I'd like to help in the garden as well."

"You're definitely your mother's son," my grandfather told me, mussing my hair. "She hated just sitting around and doing nothing while others worked around her."

I smiled as I swatted his hand away.

He was treating me like family already. I can definitely get use to this.

"Just let me know when I should wake up, and I'll help with the gardening as well."

"We couldn't ask you to do that."

I shook my head at my brother's words. "I want to."

* * *

"Oh hello Ludwig…How did Antonio take it?"

I glanced up from the dishes that I had insisted on washing to look over my shoulder. It had been a few days that I had been here, and when I hadn't cooked I had insisted on washing the dishes after.

Feliciano was currently answering the door and my grandfather was taking care of the garden again. I wasn't going to be able to take care of the fields until my back had healed.

"Not so well I'm afraid."

"Would you like something to eat? I'm sure you must be tired from your ride here."

"Thank you."

I turned my head back to the dishes in the sink so that I could finish them.

"Um, hello again," Ludwig greeted.

I set the last dish to dry before turning to look at Ludwig, a towel in my hands so I could dry them. "Last we met, I was a woman, so maybe I should reintroduce myself." I set the towel on the edge of the sink then walked over to Ludwig with my hand extended. "Hello. My name is Lovino Romano Vargas."

He blinked, confused at first. It took him a few moments to finally figure out what I was doing and smiled, extending his own hand and taking mine in a firm grip. "My name is Ludwig Beilschmidt. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And you as well."

"Ve~ Your plate is on the table Luddy," Feliciano told the man holding my hand. He let go of my hand though at the sound of the other male in the kitchen.

"Thank you Feli."

My brother giggled before stepping up on his tip toes to kiss Ludwig on the cheek. Pink dusted his cheeks, but he smiled and sat down at the table. Feliciano took the seat next to him while I sat across from them.

"How did Antonio react Luddy? And what did you tell him?"

Ludwig took a few bites of his food and was about to speak before someone slammed open the front door. It caused me to jump, but for the other two, they didn't bat an eye. The only thing that changed in them was that they were quiet now.

"Luddy, you in here?" a voice called.

"I'm in the kitchen Gilbert," Ludwig answered with a sigh. "You should at least knock on the door."

I heard not one, but two pairs of footsteps coming to the kitchen.

"Gramps doesn't mind it."

"Probably because you wouldn't listen otherwise."

"I'm sorry about that," a voice I recognized said as they entered the kitchen. I could see that Matthew was once again in a dress. "You know how Gilbert gets sometimes." His eyes caught mine as he looked around the room but he didn't say anything.

Apparently the person he arrived with did say something though. "Hey, it's you again! You're looking much healthier than when I last saw you. Someone could've sworn you had never been fed by how skinny you were."

"Gilbert!"

Gilbert turned to the person who had scolded him. "Sorry Mattie, but it's true. Even you agreed that he was too skinny. You said you even felt his ribs when you two were rolling down the hill."

I sighed. He was telling the truth.

When I lived with Sadiq, I barely ate and I was much skinnier than I should've been. Now that I'm living with my brother and grandfather, I'm eating more. Even I've noticed that I look healthier. It's not by much in my opinion, but I suppose it might be to others.

"I've been eating better," I admitted, resting my chin in my hand and staring at the table. "You didn't come to talk about my weight though, correct?"

My eyes glanced up when Ludwig cleared his throat. "Yes, I was just about to explain what had happened at the castle."

"Do you guys want some food?" Feliciano asked the two others in the kitchen.

"We're fine," Matthew admitted. "Gilbert and I ate a few snacks at his house before coming here." He and Gilbert sat in two seats, leaving one spot left for Feliciano to sit in. Once he was sure everyone had what they needed, he sat down.

"Would you explain what happened after we left?"

"First, we had to decide _what_ to tell Antonio," Gilbert admitted. Apparently he was going to speak so that his brother could eat. "And who would tell him."

"Since Gilbert is the closest, besides Francis, to him, we decided that he would be the best person to tell him," Matthew said with a smile. "We figured he'd be a bit less upset if a close friend told him."

"I ended up telling him that he'd have to put his courting plans on hold because you weren't ready for it. And when he asked where you went, I told him not to worry because little Feli here was with you and he'd return you when you were ready…"

"What did he say to that?" Feliciano asked.

"Well, he asked if you went home," Gilbert replied. "And I answered that you did since you had to talk to your gramps…" He seemed to be a bit uncomfortable.

"And?" I prompted.

"He'll be coming in a few days with Francis to talk to you."

I don't think my face has ever changed so quickly as it just did. I wasn't letting a king do this to himself.

"Lovino?"

I glared at the albino man who had allowed the king to locate me.

"Brother?"

"I had run from my house for a reason. I'm not allowing His Highness to find me." I stood from the table, not meeting anyone's eyes as I did so. I had also hoped that my slight wince went by unnoticed.

"Lovi, please don't leave," Feliciano told me, standing from his chair as well. "I just found out I had a brother; I don't want to lose him."

"I'm not letting him find me."

"Why are you so insistent on not letting Antonio find you?" Matthew asked.

I sighed, slowly sitting back down in my seat. I could also see that Feliciano did the same, since he saw that I wouldn't run from him.

"He's a king. He's expected to find himself a queen that could bear a child for him to have an heir. If he were to wed another man the kingdom would look down upon him. Some people, such as those in my village, may be lenient toward same sex marriages within the village…But do you think they'd want their king to do the same? And not only that, but leave him without an heir?" I sighed, running my hand through my hair but being careful of my curl. "I'm not sure how everyone else thinks, but I believe that I'd be highly upset if the king were to pass without an heir."

"And if there were a surrogate mother?" Ludwig asked, pushing his empty plate forward. Feliciano handed him a towel so that he could clean his mouth of any food.

"She'd brag. What woman wouldn't? _She_ carried the king's child. _She_ was the reason the kingdom had someone for the throne. _She_ slept with the king. It wouldn't matter if I had slept with him before, since a man can't bear a child. She would look down upon me as dirt because she was needed more than I." I stared at the ceiling. "His Majesty needs a woman, and I'm not a woman. Simple as that. The king should give up with me and search for a suitable woman who is healthy and can give him a child."

Gilbert chuckled, causing me to look at him.

"What's so funny?"

He had to calm himself a bit before answering me. "Do you know that Antonio is dead set on wedding a man? And what you said about him needing to marry a woman is exactly what Francis, friend to Antonio and I, argued back with him. What's funny is that Francis had asked Antonio if he thought there was one man out there willing to give up his masculinity to be with him, and yet there you were disguised as a woman and willingly giving up your masculinity."

"It wasn't willingly," I admitted. When I received confused looks, I told them about Britannia's Angel and his magic. "I'm not asking you guys to believe me, but that's what happened."

"It would make sense," Gilbert stated. "When we went to search for you, we could find no trace."

"But the point is that I was intending to be a man at the ball. Unplanned things happened that caused me to be a woman. His Majesty should have never even met me."

"Well, this angel you're speaking of," Matthew started, fiddling with his fingers. He had to clear his throat before he could continue. "Are you able to call him when you'd like?"

I shrugged. "I've never tried, but he hasn't come to me once more since then. Why do you ask?"

"Well…if he turned you a woman once, changing your body as well…Maybe Antonio and you could be together and have a child. You'd just have to be a woman while pregnant."

My eyes narrowed as Gilbert pat Matthew's back. "That's a great idea Mattie!"

"No."

Gilbert stopped his abusing of Matthew's back to look at me. "What? Why not?"

"I don't know if you know, but childbirth is fairly painful according to the women who talk in my village. That's for the ones that actually survive childbirth that is. You want someone unhealthy as I am, who's decent meals started when I began living here and who hasn't visited a doctor in years even if I was sick, to bring a child into this world. Have you thought of the king at all? He wants something based on love correct?" I waited for someone to nod in response. "Do you know not all mothers survive childbirth? I've seen families crying in joy for the miracle that was brought to the world and in sadness for the death of the mother that created that miracle. You're asking an unhealthy _man _to bear a child. I think I have a higher chance of death than most of those mothers. Asking me to bring a child into this world is basically asking if I'm ready to die. I would do it for my king, as I am a mere commoner and must respect all orders and wishes of His Majesty, but he would only be able to love his child after."

"Can't that angel be there to make sure you don't die?" Gilbert asked.

"You trust someone who randomly came to me and whom I've not seen again since? I think I'd be lucky to see him once more." I looked at Gilbert. "The point is, I will not be a woman. They are fragile beings and I hate being considered as someone who can't hold their own."

Gilbert could only stare at me for a minute or two before snapping out of whatever daze he had been in. "The more I hear you talk, the more I think you and Antonio are perfect for each other. You both have the same opinions on things, well except you following his orders. He doesn't want someone who does whatever he asks."

"Well then you have a problem, because I don't want to wed His Majesty."

Gilbert rested his elbow on the table and put his chin in his hand, staring at me. "You don't want to marry him because you're afraid of what the people think, right?"

"Mostly what they would think of the king. I don't give a shit what they think about me."

"What if you were to wear a dress, as Feli and Mattie do, to trick the people into thinking you're a woman?"

"I'd be lying to the people who would look up to me. My brother and Matthew aren't the king or his equal. It doesn't matter if they lie. I wouldn't be able to lie to the people who would listen to me."

"Hmm, I figured out what we can do."

"I don't think I'm going to like the answer," Ludwig said with a sigh. "But what have you figured out."

"We'll just kidnap Lovino here and tell everyone that Antonio is really a woman!"

"You're an idiot."

"I'm out of here," I stated, getting up from the table and walking away. I'd want to go pack some clothes first before I left.

Well I was planning on that before my grandfather came in from the back door and my brother decided to go find him.

"Grandpa! Lovi wants to leave!" My brother shot out of his chair and out of the kitchen to go find the person he was shouting for.


	9. Maybe I Am Scared

"Oh I remember this coming part too!"

"Thankfully, so do I."

"You guys didn't need to be so rough with Lovi…Do you know how upset I was when I found him and he explained what happened?"

"Well…we were trying to help you both, and apparently fratello is stubborn."

"Ugh…"

* * *

I glared at my brother and the rest of the people in the living room.

Glaring was the only thing I could actually do right now seeing as how my family ganged up on me. Apparently my brother was stronger than he looks and held me down while my grandfather got a rope.

And now I'm tied and kept on the sofa in the living room.

They had bound my arms and legs then wrapped my tied arms to my torso. Because Gilbert was tired after only a minute of my cursing, he grabbed some spare cloth and wrapped my mouth so talking was out of the question.

"Do you think it's good to keep him tied up like this until Antonio arrives?" Matthew asked. "He won't arrive for a few days, and Lovino will need to eat and use the restroom."

"We'll keep an eye on any and all exits when he's untied for that," Gilbert decided, nodding his head. His arms were crossed over his chest, as though he were proving a point…I think. "And this way we can tie a bow for when Antonio arrives and tell him we got him a gift. Maybe he'll get us something extra special for our birthdays. I'm gonna ask for a bigger cake…The last one didn't last the whole day."

"That was because it was you, Antonio, Francis, and Feli that were eating it…Of course it wouldn't last long with all of you."

I think just running away without anyone finding me would've worked better.

"I didn't get to try your cake since I was sick and you were with Antonio," Grandpa Roma said with a sigh. He looked over at the albino man near him. "I want a piece of this year's cake."

"I'll make sure to save you a big piece, especially since you normally make a cake for me as well." He hugged my grandfather. "You're such an awesome grandfather Gramps!"

My grandfather chuckled, patting Gilbert's head.

Next time they let me piss, I'm climbing out the window and getting the hell out of here. They may be family, but they don't realize this will not be good for His Majesty in the future. We may end up falling in love for all I know, but in the end, he still needs an heir…

Am I willing to allow someone I love to sleep with a woman so she could bare a child for him?

Maybe if he were to do it before any love was involved?

But didn't the others mention that he'd be courting me until we were married? That means he'd sleep with another while still being involved with me.

Shit, this is confusing.

Why couldn't he have a sibling that could make him an heir? But then again, that'd still leave me with the fact of His Majesty marrying another man.

Maybe if I were to go around and ask the villagers what they'd think of the idea of His Majesty marrying another man…But then they might ask why I'm wondering. Then they'd know he would want to marry the same sex and possibly look down upon him.

Is there no simple way out of this?

"What's he looking at?"

"Maybe there's a bug on the floor?"

"I don't see a bug Grandpa…"

"Maybe because we're standing we can't see it?"

"That must be one small bug."

I honestly don't want to deceive people if I were to wed His Majesty and rule the lands by his side. If they trust me as their ruler, I'd want them to know who I honestly am, not a façade I'm hiding behind.

I can't allow the king to be known to marry a man, but I refuse to dress/become a woman. The king needs an heir and I wouldn't want him to sleep with another if he so chooses to keep me by his side, but I can't bare a child of my own. I refuse to depend upon magic after that one night, but it could allow me to bare Antonio's child.

Why does life always have to throw things like this at me?

For once in my life can I stay happy?

Of course not. That would just be too easy. And things just can't be easy for me.

I was happy living with my father, who forgot to water the tomato plants and killed all of them, but he got married to a bastard. I wasn't being abused physically because my father was there, but he died and the abuse began. I finally get the chance to go to a ball to escape my hell for a few hours, and I'm turned into a girl and manage to cause His Majesty to find me interesting. I try to run away because he would like to wed, or at least court me until his birthday, and I end up finding out that I have a brother. I run away with my brother to meet my grandfather, and the king's friends try to convince me to stay with him…By tying me up in the living room.

I think the easiest thing I've done is hate Sadiq and Natalia. That hatred just comes so naturally.

I…just want things to go how they use to be.

I let a deep breath out through my nose, since I was unable to sigh through my mouth.

I want things to go back to how they were. I want Father to be alive. I want to watch the tomato plants die because he kept forgetting to water them. I want to climb into his bed when I had a nightmare. I want to cry with him because we missed Mother. I want to listen to Father as he tried teaching me, since Mother was unable to.

I could have none of that.

Father is dead. Sadiq is all I'm left with. I've run from home because Sadiq would possibly beat me for knowing I defied him.

And I've run away from His Majesty.

Is it honestly because I don't want people to look down upon him? He's a kind and caring king, just as his father before him. I don't think the people of the kingdom would honestly look down to him.

An heir? Maybe I could actually suck it up and allow him to find a surrogate mother…If he'd be willing to try to give up everything just to be with another man, why can't I suck it up and allow him to find someone capable of being a mother…Sofia loves children…And she's sweet enough not to brag to anyone that she was in fact the mother to the future king or queen of the kingdom. She'd also apologize to me over and over for sleeping with the man I loved, or may love…Hope to love if I'm going to marry him…

Why did I not think of this before?

Is it because I'm scared?

I'm only eighteen. My father and mother are both dead and I've lived with a man I hate who loves to continually put me further and further down. If I have any fight in me, he wants it gone. I can't exactly hope for much in my life.

Maybe I am scared.

But who wants to suddenly be committed to someone they've just met? Someone that you've only talked to for a few hours. Someone who is definitely kind…and sweet…And willing to chase someone through the lands because they've run from you.

I wonder if there's some ale I could purchase nearby…Maybe I'm not nearly drunk enough to figure out what I'm going to do.

"Um, Lovino? We're sorry for tying you up, but we really don't want you to leave. Tony really does want to get to know you. He's the type of person who wants to be in love, that's why he wants to get to talk to you and court you until his birthday."

I didn't bother looking up at my brother.

I was too busy trying to figure some things out.

Would they untie me so I could think in peace and quiet in my room? That actually may be better than sitting tied here…Though being tied actually made me think of things I hadn't before.

It's probably my body's way of dealing with threats/stress.

I dunno…My body's pretty fucked up in how it deals with things, so I can never be too sure for anything. It figures that I'm upset about something and want to cry and it decides first, it would be good to get angry and try to beat the shit out of anything near by.

Yeah whatever body. Fuck you too.

* * *

So it turns out that nobody trusted me enough to let me go anywhere alone, and Matthew had even asked his brother, Alfred, to come over and help keep me in line.

Alfred had short blond hair with a cowlick in the front and wore glasses over his blue eyes…Oh…and he was strong as hell. The guy went to pat my back in a greeting, since I had been tied at the moment, and I swore he almost broke my spine.

He was in charge of me most of the time until Antonio would arrive, and chattered on and on about the most random things. I swore that by the time His Majesty would arrive, I'd be begging at his feet to take me _away_ from the hyper-active blond.

In fact, I nearly did just that when I heard a commotion outside of the house.

"Oh, it sounds like the king's finally here," Alfred said, looking up from a book he was reading.

I just groaned, rolling onto my side on my bed. Alfred didn't feel like I should be moved, since I wouldn't be able to do anything, so he just left me in my bed.

"I'm hating Britannia's Angel more and more now…It's because of him all of this happened…I'd be doing chores like normal if it wasn't for that damn eyebrow angel."

"Wait…you know Arthur?" Alfred set the book onto the end table he was near before crossing the room and sitting on the side of the bed I was facing.

"The guy has a name? Wait…" I looked over at Alfred. "How do you know the guy?"

"He visits me from time to time…We're er…kinda close…But things can't work out since he's not exactly alive."

I regarded Alfred carefully. "Why don't you just ask him to use his magic to turn himself human…Wouldn't that solve things?"

"Hmm…that's-" Alfred was interrupted by a knock on my bedroom door.

"Antonio's here Al," Matthew called into the room.

"Hold on Mattie. Tell Antonio were busy right now."

"Um…"

"We're just talking. The guy can wait a few more minutes. He spent that time taking care of paperwork and other crap before actually coming here; I think ten more minutes would be fine."

I heard a sigh on the other side of the door. "Alright. But please don't be too long Al…I've told you_ twice_ what this means to Antonio."

"I know…" And then Alfred's attention immediately went back to me. "Now, about what we were saying…Do you think he'd do that?"

"I do remember him saying that he helped me out because he was in love with another male and understood the feelings and pain behind it…"

"He…he said that?"

"Yeah…he even helped my dad when he married my bastard of a step-father."

"I didn't think he cared so much about me."

Oh, now I understand…that angel that helped me, Arthur, and Alfred care deeply for each other but they're kept apart by certain circumstances…Huh, it kinda reminds me of my predicament…

Except His Majesty and I don't care deeply for each other…There's an attraction from me because he's handsome and nice, and he's already being forced to find a suitable wife…And because of Arthur, I was a woman and ended up being the type of wife he was looking for.

The male kind.

At least he was willing to court the person he wants to wed before the actual marriage. That's something good at least. He wants to at least know the person before jumping right into the marriage.

"I guess I'll go get Antonio now…I'm gonna talk with Arthur about what you suggested though."

"Yeah…let me know how that goes…" I'm honestly curious as to how things with those two will go.

"I'll make sure to do just that…Thanks for the tips though." He gently pat my leg before getting up and leaving the room. I was actually surprised that when he touched me it wasn't painful…It's definitely different.

I'm happy for one less bruise.

It would've been nice of him to release me though…I guess no one trusts me not to run away yet. I'm still doubtful on trusting myself to be completely honest.

I waited a minute or two until there was a knock on the door.

"Lovino?" a male voice asked. I remember that voice from the night of the ball. "May I come in?"

"Do whatever you want," I grumbled. "It's not like I can stop you."

He took that as a good sign, whether he heard me or not, I'm not sure, but he opened the door anyway.

"Um…if you don't mind me asking…Why're you tied up?"

I didn't bother turning around to look at the king. "Apparently my family and your friends didn't think I'd stay after finding out that you were coming. They didn't bother gagging me after the first day though."

He sighed and I heard him close the door behind him before his footsteps got closer to the bed. "Let me untie you then…I've known most of them for years…They can do some crazy things. I never expected this from them, though I probably should've." I felt his hands touch my own as he worked on untying my wrists first. "Most of them aren't so bad…Though I'm sure either Alfred or Gilbert might've been involved in why you were gagged."

"It was the albino," I told him, feeling the binding on my wrists loosen as the tie was taken off. After that first day, everyone had noticed my lack of struggles and only bound my wrists and ankles.

His Majesty chuckled, working on the bindings on my legs next. "That definitely sounds about right. I'm surprised Mattie didn't try to stop him though."

"He tried. Gilbert ignored him."

I heard a sigh come from the other man in the room. "Gil needs to learn to listen to Mattie more…"

I turned my head enough to look at the king out of the corner of my eyes before resting my head back where it previously was. "Why did you bother chasing after me? Why didn't you give up?"

The hands that had been moving quite a bit to undo the tight knot on my ankles stopped for a few seconds. "Ah…It means that you won't listen to everything I'd say I want…I wanted you to stay and yet you left. From what Feli told me downstairs, you apparently put up a fight as well, trying to stay away from me…Because you don't want people to look down if I'd want to wed another man."

"You chased after someone who didn't want to listen and who didn't want to be by your side," I summarized.

"No," he immediately answered. "I chased after someone who would be himself and help to make the kingdom a better place. Someone who cares about others and not just of himself." He rested his hand on my still tied ankle. "Instead of just admitting you were who I was looking for like other girls tried convincing Gilbert and Ludwig, you tried hiding it. You were determined not to be brought to me, thinking that it'd help me."

"And yet you chased me."

"Because during the ball you were the only woman that I had danced with that wasn't trying to get all of my attention on her. You tried getting _away _from me in the very beginning, you stumbled over your own feet, you threatened Francis because you thought he was lying about Jeanne knowing…"

"But I'm not a woman. You know that I'm a man. Why are you still persistent on pursuing me?"

"Because you're the kind of person I was looking for." I turned my head to look at His Majesty. He had apparently already been looking at me, so when I looked at his face, my eyes were caught by his. "I wasn't looking for a woman to be completely honest, but Francis told me I should. It would be best to do so or something along those lines. I didn't expect any girl to catch my attention and all of my friends decided to help me out by looking for a girl with the type of personality I wanted."

"And what was that?"

"Being their own person. One who wasn't fawning over me, or even bothering to catch my attention. Someone who was down to earth and wasn't trying to lie about their lineage to convince me to marry them." A smile graced His Majesty's lips. "You sat off to the side, not bothering with even having your name announced and sat off to the side. Even though you were dressed as a woman, you threatened Francis and were suspicious of him. When you were even in my presence, you still threatened him. You tried to get away, though I think I distracted you enough to make you forget. And when I talked with you, I got to know you a little better. You spoke of just any thing that seemed to come to your mind, not bothering to care that it's not really something you'd say to someone you were trying to impress."

"I wasn't trying to impress you…" I couldn't pull my eyes from him.

"And that's why I'm so impressed and caught on you." There was a tug at my ankles and I felt the binding that held my ankles together had been loosened. "You're free now…Nothing is tying you up and keeping you from running…Do you want to run away? I won't chase you anymore if you do. I had just wanted to speak to you one more time to let you know what I was thinking."

I moved so that I was sitting on my bed, facing His Majesty.

"You know, I thought about running away before…But I've decided to give this a chance."

"Really?" His eyes seemed to light up at that. Maybe he was happy he wouldn't have to search for someone else.

"But if I feel nothing for you by the week of your birthday, I will leave. I refuse to wed someone I won't have feelings for."

His Majesty nodded his head. "That's agreeable. I would love to allow more time to court someone I'd want to wed, but I'm already pushing it waiting until my birthday." He looked down and reached out for my right hand, which was resting by my side. When his own hand was resting on mine he looked back up into my eyes. "So…Will you come back to the castle with me? From the moment we leave this house and up until my birthday, I'm determined to spend all of my free time trying to find out as much as I can about you and telling you everything about me."

His Majesty is definitely a sweet guy.

"Sure."

* * *

**AN: I am VERY sorry for anyone who reads this story and became confused by chapters nine and ten. I hope I've fixed the problem this time around, and if there is some confusion please don't hesitate to let me know.**


	10. A Little Bit of Bonding

"So you didn't come with a single guard?" I asked from behind His Majesty. He had apparently come on his own on horseback, and we were currently riding back to his castle. To His Majesty's enjoyment, I had my arms around his waist so I wouldn't fall off the horse.

His Majesty had insisted on returning with me as soon as possible once I had agreed and wouldn't allow any time for rest. The guy would be going nearly two days without rest. Thankfully, he left his horse he rode to get to me at Feliciano's and took the horse Feliciano had borrowed and never returned from him.

"I was going to bring Francis, but Jeanne had gotten a cough and he wanted to stay by her side. I didn't want to bring any other guards though because I know they'd slow me down."

"And they'd tell you to rest no doubt."

"They're overprotective of me…"

"You're the king of this kingdom…I think they have a good reason for that."

"I know how to protect myself though. They think I'm some guy who can barely lift a finger without getting hurt. I use to spar all the time with Francis and Gilbert when we were younger."

"But when you were younger, you weren't king. You are now and the last of your line."

"And I hate that fact. I'm no longer allowed to be free like I use to, and I'm expected to have a child…Though obviously that'd be hard seeing as how I'm into men."

"Well, if I do decide to stay by your side, I've figured out something for that."

"You did?"

"Yeah. She's a sweet girl and won't brag about baring your child…Though I'm sure you can expect her to cry and say sorry quite often."

"For someone who didn't want to be with me, you seem to be prepared in case things work out." The king glanced over his shoulder and I could just barely see the grin on his face.

"Shut up," I grumbled, hiding my face in his back.

"But it's true. I was trying to find you, a male, and didn't even think of finding a surrogate mother…though I was afraid to find one and upset you. And you, who tried to run away from me, actually thought of someone you wouldn't mind actually bearing my child. If I may ask, who were you thinking of?"

"My sister, Sofia. She's actually my step sister to be honest, but she's very sweet. The only thing that bothers me is if her sister or our step-father finds out. They like to manipulate things in their favor, so if they find out they'd be the ones bragging about the child. Sadiq would say that his daughter was the true mother to the child, meaning that he should have rights to watch over the child and he'd probably corrupt the kid or something stupid like that. Natalia would say she is blood related to the future king and should have some control over what happens with him."

"Have you thought of maybe asking your sister to come live with you?" the king asked after a while. "That way no one has to know who the real mother is."

I sighed into His Majesty's back. "I don't know if she wants to be separated from Natalia. They're blood sisters…No matter how mean Natalia is to Sofia, they're blood…They're all they have left of their family."

"Family isn't determined by blood you know. It's the people who care about you."

* * *

"Are you sure you're comfortable?"

"For the last time, yes." I glanced at His Majesty from the bed I had been given. He had insisted that I be as comfortable as possible and tried giving me his own bed.

I had told him if he told me to take his bed one more time I was going to leave and never return. That shut him up real quick. He then offered me a room close to his.

"I just want to make sure…" He was hesitant to leave my room.

"Antonio, this attention may be making him uncomfortable," a woman said, causing both the king and I to look over at the door.

It was that woman that I had seen at the ball. The one I was unsure if she knew that man was dancing with other women. She was wearing a beautiful green dress that reached the floor.

"Oh, are you feeling better Jeanne?" His Majesty asked.

"A little bit…I was just wondering if I could speak with the person who caused such a ruckus."

"Ah sure. Would you like me to bring you anything?"

"That's alright." Jeanne-from what I'm gathering her name is- walked over and sat at the end of my bed, watching the king. "Now you should probably go to sleep. I'm sure some of the others will be returning tomorrow, and you know that they'll be upset if they find out you're not sleeping."

"But-"

"Sleep Antonio." I could see the glare she sent to the king, causing him to wince.

"Goodnight Jeanne." He turned his attention back to me. "Goodnight Lovino and sweet dreams. I'll be by in the morning to wake you up."

"Goodnight Your Majesty."

His Majesty seemed to crumble a bit when I called him that. "Please, just call me Antonio. I don't like close friends to refer to me by my title."

"You barely know me," I countered. "I don't believe I'm on any terms to refer to the king as anything less than his official title."

"Don't push it Tony," Jeanne ordered. "Francis will speak with you tomorrow, now go to sleep."

King Antonio sighed before nodding. "Don't stay up late either Jeanne. If you're still recovering, then you need as much rest as possible." And with that, he finally left the room.

"I apologize for his coddling," Jeanne said. "He tends to get attached to people quite easily. You're the person that he may end up wedding, so it's going to be a little worse on you. He'll take care of your every need and do whatever you ask, to be quite honest."

"He's a king though. He has people who can care for me, right?"

Jeanne giggled. "I can tell you now that the people in this castle love Antonio. He hates ordering people around unless it's absolutely necessary. They'll cook for him, and clean, but for the most part he likes doing most of it on his own. He even asks them to eat with him. I think the most work they do is when I'm here, because of my fragile state." She rested her hands in her lap before carefully examining me. "I don't believe you'll purposely hurt Antonio."

I frowned at that. "No. I don't plan to hurt the king. I was honestly trying to avoid him so he wouldn't find me to be honest."

"And why is that?" It wasn't accusatory. This woman was just curious.

"He was looking for a woman to give him an heir, and obviously since I'm also a man I can't give him that."

"And what helped you to decide to actually come back with Antonio?"

"I have a step-sister who is very sweet. I'm sure she wouldn't mind helping if I asked her. She also wouldn't boast that she carried the future king of the kingdom. As I'm sure you know, many women would boast about carrying the king's child."

Jeanne nodded. "Yes, many women would brag about that. They'd brag about carrying his child, going to bed with him…Some women can be cruel."

"I'm still a bit unsure if I'd want His Majesty to wed me instead of a woman though. I don't care what people say about me, but His Majesty is the king. Not everyone is fond of the idea of two people of the same gender being together."

"That is true. That's why Feliciano and Matthew wear dresses most of the time they leave their homes."

That definitely makes sense. "So that's why they wore dresses."

Jeanne nodded. "Feliciano and Matthew are both willing enough to wear dresses in public so that they can show affection to their loved ones, Ludwig and Gilbert respectively. I don't believe that the people will be too upset though if you care for them as a queen should." She sighed. "The most hate you will receive will be from the church, as I'm sure you know."

I nodded.

The churches can be quite harsh on people who were different, such as those who cared for the same sex.

"I know. If His Majesty wants this to be official though, he'll have to convince a priest to wed us."

The woman in front of me frowned. "That is true. He'll have until the day you're to be wed to try to convince him. He may be the king, but the church holds power as well. I think just ordering them to wed you two would not gain favor with the people. Thankfully he's a very loved man so I think things may go in his favor. It's just going to take a little push to get them to allow it."

* * *

"Lovino?" I heard someone ask before there was a near silent knock.

I let out a small noise and turned away from the sound of the noise, not once opening my eyes.

A door opened. "Lovino, it's time to wake up."

"Ah, Your Majesty," a new voice greeted. "You have some papers to take care of sir."

"But…"

"I'm sorry Your Majesty. They're about your wedding."

There was a sigh. "Alright then…I guess it can't be helped. I'll visit him after my paperwork is done then."

The door that had previously been opened, closed, allowing me to get some more sleep. It didn't seem like it was early enough for anyone to be awake, let alone getting up. Then again, I use to get up before the sun began to rise most of the time.

I no longer have to do that, so I don't want to be awake unless I have to.

With that being decided, I decided the best course of action would be to sleep. So I did just that.

* * *

I woke up to someone touching my shoulder.

"It's lunch time," the person, a male by the voice, told me. "It's time to wake up." The hand on my shoulder moved a bit, trying to wake me up.

"I'm tired," I mumbled.

"The excitement must've worn you out, but you should probably wake up and get something in your system."

I opened my eyes and glanced over my shoulder to see the person who was trying to wake me up was none other than the king himself.

"Ah, you're finally awake?" A smile was on his face. "It's nearly noon. I tried to wake you up a few times, but you just wouldn't budge."

"Sorry Your Majesty." I moved so that I could sit up in bed and covered my mouth as I yawned.

He sighed at the name I called him. "Lovino…" It looked like he wanted to say something, but thought better of it. He leaned over and picked up a tray before setting it on my lap. "I've brought you some lunch."

There was quite a bit of food on it…more than I could eat myself without being a pig.

"Have you eaten yet sir?"

"Ah, no, not yet." He tried to laugh it off.

"You should eat something as well then." I moved closer to the edge of the bed so that the king would also be able to grab some food.

The older man blinked before smiling and nodding, grabbing a bread roll from the tray.

"Um, I've talked with the priest this morning," His Majesty said after a little while of silence.

I nodded, letting him know that I was listening and that he could go on.

"It didn't take as much as I thought it would for them to allow the marriage…So it's up to you if it happens."

"I'm still unsure." There isn't much time to actually know each other. How can I figure out if we can have a loving relationship or not in that amount of time?

I glanced at the king, who was now staring at his lap.

This man is trying to make things work though. He's not worried about what people think of him wedding, or having sex with, another male. He's trying his hardest to get to know me, and probably of me getting to know him. The guy is even trying to get me to stop calling him His Majesty and call him by his name, though I still feel uncomfortable doing such since he's the king.

Maybe I should try harder in trying to get to know him.

"My mother died when I was very young," I suddenly said, causing His Majesty looked up at me. "Apparently a little bit after she had had Feliciano…And my father remarried to another man…Then he died as well. I don't know what sickness they had, and I never want to know, afraid that anyone else I may get close to will suffer the same fate. But they're both dead, leaving me with the man my father remarried. I don't count Sadiq as a parental figure since he never cared for me."

"What?"

"Sadiq had me working for him in the house I was born in. He and Natalia loved to make things difficult for me, and even hit me when they felt like it. Sofia was forced by Natalia's threats to make things hard on me as well, but she still made things as easy for me as she was capable of."

By this point, apparently the king understood what I was saying and nodded.

"So growing up I never really hated her. She's a sweet girl who's easily bullied. I hated both Natalia and Sadiq with a passion though and more than once I considered leaving."

I stayed quiet for a little while and the silence stayed until His Majesty interrupted it. "Why didn't you leave?"

"I couldn't…That was my home and I'd feel as though I lost to Sadiq if I just left him with what my father left me. So I worked as though I were a servant in my own home." A sigh escaped my lips. "I did lose to him eventually though. I've run from my own home and left him with everything my father left me."

"You can take it back," His Majesty said, looking as though he were choosing his next words carefully. "I can go with you and take everything back that belongs to you. He wouldn't be able to fight the king's decision."

I shook my head. "I don't like other people fighting my fights. I just have to live with the fact that Sadiq got what he wanted in the end."

"Your home?"

"Everything my father left without the extra luggage." His Majesty had a confused look on his face. "He has a nice home, animals, money…and no brat left by the man he got it all from."

King Antonio seemed to hesitate for a moment before reaching out and just barely touching my arm. "You can still fight him you know." He looked straight in my eyes. "You're blood of the man who originally owned everything. You have more rights to your house than he does."

"After marriage everything either owns becomes property of both people. I'm technically property of Sadiq and anything I acquire will become property of him."

"If that's the case, wouldn't he lose all those rights if you were married?" King Antonio looked a little uncomfortable. "I'm not trying to force you or give you reasons to marry me, but I do have to point out that once married you're technically your own person and everything you have belongs to you and the person you had wed. If you get anything after marriage, it belongs to you and your spouse, right?"

"No. Anything I get that would belong to me would belong to Sadiq, meaning that if I were to wed you, Sadiq would actually have the power from the church to be able to take things from here."

The king was quiet for a little while, so I took advantage of the lack of conversation and started eating a little more of the food in my lap. When he did speak though, he had to stop to clear his throat before trying again.

"What about if he gave up any rights to you?"

"I'd lose any chance at having my home back."

"But you'd gain your freedom…And you can fight him, once you feel as though you're ready, to get it back from him. And anything you would have to your name would be yours." His Majesty ducked his head a little, looking down at his lap. "And if you married me, I'd never ask for anything you'd have. You can keep everything you ever get."

I snort escaped me before I could stop it. "You have everything you could ever want here. Why would you want any silly trinkets or clothes that a mere commoner, one who works as a servant in his own home, would have."

"I wouldn't want them, but I'd love if you'd share them, just so I could learn more about you. Maybe an old flower pot your mother may've cared for would explain your love for plants."

I stared at His Majesty, my eyes wide.

"Hmm? Is something the matter?"

"How do you know I like plants?"

"You like plants?" The king blinked, as surprised as I am.

"My mother use to care for them and after she died my father kept forgetting…I use to love when he'd actually remember to care for the tomato plants and we could have fresh tomatoes."

"I have a tomato plant in my room," His Majesty said happily. "We also have a field with different things so I can have fresh food often, but I like having a tomato plant in my room so that I can care for it myself."


	11. More Bonding

After that first day in the castle, things started to become a bit better between me and Antonio, who I had finally begun to call by name. He and I spent most of our time together, trying to get to know each other, and when we weren't together, I was speaking with my brother or his friends.

Apparently Jeanne and Francis would be staying with Antonio until after his marriage, so that Jeanne didn't have to travel as much. Matthew and Feliciano, and in turn Gilbert and Ludwig, stayed over at the castle to talk to me and help me get adjusted to the idea. They did return home occasionally, since it was only a day's ride away, but for the most part they would stay at the castle.

It's only a few days until Antonio turns twenty-one now, and he's being rushed around more often than before.

"So have you decided on what you're going to do?" Matthew asked me as he and I sat outside in the garden. He was in a normal outfit, seeing as how the public wouldn't see him in the garden.

Feliciano was off with Ludwig doing who knows what.

I sighed, picking a tomato off of the plant right next to me and biting into it. "I think I'm gonna go through with it…Antonio is very nice to me, even when I get a little moody, and I think I can see myself with him in ten and twenty years."

"Have you thought of an heir?"

I shrugged, watching him take a sip of tea. "I'm going to try talking to Sofia…But I'm still a little worried about her sister and Sadiq."

"From what you've told me, it seems like they'd be a problem…We wouldn't want a child for Antonio that someone else has claim to."

"The only way we could get out of it would be if she got married. Her husband would be the only one who had any rights over her, and if she is as sweet as you say, then you know she'd marry an honest man."

I nodded, looking out into the garden to stare at the tomato plants. "As long as Antonio isn't expected an heir right away then we should be fine. I don't think Sofia is talking to anyone, but you never know. I don't exactly talk to her about her love life after all."

Actually, I never really talked to her very much. She'd apologize to me, and I'd tell her it wasn't her fault, but we never really talked much more than that…I really don't know much about her, do I?

* * *

A sigh escaped me as I stared out the window and into the garden.

"Is something wrong Lovino?" Antonio asked, taking a bite of his food. "Are you having second thoughts about the wedding tomorrow? I'm sorry if you had wanted a small wedding, but I _am_ the king. If it makes you feel any better, I won't let the villagers into the castle grounds to congratulate us. And only my advisers and noblemen will be at the actual wedding, so you won't have to worry about that."

He continued on, causing me to chuckle. In the time I spent getting to know the king, I've learned that when he's nervous he begins to rant.

His food was lying there, forgotten by him, so I stole a tomato he'd probably never miss.

"And if you feel uncomfortable, we don't have to have intercourse, even though that's actually expected on a couple's wedding night. We really haven't known each other long so it's actually very understandable. We can wait a few months, or even until our anniversary."

I didn't bother stopping him, quite enjoying listening to what he's afraid that I'm worried about.

The sigh was actually about the fact that a gardener stepped on a tomato and crushed the poor thing.

I'll let Antonio know that when he calms down though.

"And to be honest we don't have to worry about an heir for a little while. Maybe a few years. Long enough for us both to be comfortable with the idea that I'll have to sleep with someone besides you, and definitely not before you and I sleep together. Well having intercourse I mean. I don't know if you'd want to sleep in the same bed just yet or not."

I'm not quite sure of that actually. We have yet to even kiss and I just started to allow him to hug me. Though we will have to kiss tomorrow for the wedding, won't we?

"You've just begun to allow me to hug you, so it might be a bit uncomfortable if we were to share the same bed just yet." A nervous laugh escaped him and he scratched the back of his head. "I'm not quite sure if I'm clingy when I sleep. I think I might be though, since I do enjoy giving people hugs. Ah, I just love spreading love, you know? Maybe it's because I love seeing people happy? And I know Feli loves giving hugs too, just like Francis. Jeanne's never too happy when Francis gropes me when he gives me hugs, but she cheers up after she hits him."

Actually, Francis tried hugging me a few days ago. I kicked him away when his hands were out of my line of sight. I also love speaking with Jeanne since she's such a kind woman and beautiful company.

"Ah I really hope you don't mind being married to me and being what should be the queen's position, though I can't call you the queen, can I? You're male…I guess you'd be sort of like a co-king? Oh well, that's really not as important as to your happiness. I wouldn't want you to be miserable to be with me for the rest of our lives. It'd be a bit depressing actually if you were miserable with me. Because that would mean you weren't happy and that would just be-"

Okay that's it. He's getting depressing now.

I grabbed a cherry tomato and shoved it into the king's open mouth. He did as I had hoped and stopped talking.

"You know, you sometimes talk too much," I told him before glancing back out the window. I pointed down into the garden. "I was sighing because one of your gardeners stepped on a tomato…The thing didn't stand a chance."

"So, you're not having second thoughts about the wedding tomorrow?" he asked, looking a little bit more at ease.

"Oh I'm terrified about the wedding," I admitted, still looking out into the garden. "Nothing terrifies me more than the fact I'll be attached to the king of the land and I'm still hesitant on it. People will expect me to be well-mannered, no doubt, and I'll be together with a man I've only known personally for less than two months. I'm being thrown into this high end lifestyle while I'm accustomed to being the servant in my own home, all because I had some fairy or -whatever the hell Arthur is- turn me into a woman for a few hours so I could get away."

"Wait Arthur?"

"Hmm? You know him?" I looked away from the window to glance at Antonio's surprised face.

"Large eyebrows and green eyes?"

"Yeah."

Antonio sighed. "Same Arthur I know then. He disappeared when I was young."

That caught my attention. "So he was human once?"

"He's not now?"

I shook my head. "He's the one that made me into an actual woman for the night of your ball. I wasn't wearing fake breasts or anything. They had been real."

Antonio's eyes widened. "I had been wondering all this time what you had done to make them so real. Even Feliciano and Matthew can't get their fake breasts to match a real woman's…"

He trailed off at the look I gave him.

Apparently it took him a few seconds before he figured it out because he began to sputter something before shaking his head and waving his arms. "No! No! It's not what you think! It's Francis. He suggested they be as close to a real woman's breasts in case anyone were to touch them, whether on accident or not. And they're either too hard or too soft."

I nodded, still giving the king a look. "They looked real because they were. It was a weird night for me, especially since he changed my whole body and losing your dick isn't something you really do every day." A sigh escaped me. "I spent a full minute getting use to the feeling of being a completely different gender before I was rushed off to go to the ball…To be completely honest I think he planned it so that I'd catch your attention."

"Why would he do that? He hates me."

"Ah, but I'm friends with you Tony," another voice said, causing Antonio and I to look toward the door of the dining room. Standing in the doorway was Alfred. Matthew was standing by his side. "I had asked Arthur to help you out."

"Maybe we should sit down and you can explain it a bit better than that," Matthew said, pushing his brother forward a little.

Alfred nodded and both walked more into the room.

"So wait, you knew me already?" I asked, watching as both brothers made themselves comfortable across the table from me. Antonio had been sitting at the head of the table with me to his left. Matthew sat across from me and to Antonio's right and Alfred sat to his brother's right.

"No, I didn't know you," Alfred admitted. "Mattie told me that Gilbert told him that Antonio was miserable thinking that he'd have to marry a woman. I'm fairly close to Arthur, as you Lovino already know. I recently found out this past month that the guy was killed by some wizard when he was younger, but had been given a second chance. He took that second chance and decided to help those who were more unfortunate." He glanced to me. "He told me he's already tried to turn himself human and almost died from it. Apparently it's against the rules and if he tries it once more he'll be killed for sure."

"Rough," I admitted. That meant that Alfred and Arthur really couldn't be together like they wanted…Right. "So that means…"

"Well, he's not human…But he's sort of technically alive…In some weird way. We're just making it work and taking everything day by day. He ages as humans do, so he's not worried much about if I'll age and he won't."

"Well at least you have that for you two," I told him, giving him a sympathetic smile.

Alfred nodded. "Well enough about that. Back to the subject at hand. You know that he helped your father to get married to another man. So he already knew you, even though he was still quite young. I never knew about you though…Well anyway, since he had already dealt with your family before, he chose you when I asked him to help me find someone for Antonio."

"Why would he help me though?" Antonio asked. "He hates me."

"I don't though," Alfred corrected. "And that's what made him help you. He wanted me to be happy, and I'd be happy once I knew my brother was happy because Gilbert was happy because you were happy…"

"That's kinda confusing," I admitted, stealing the last tomato bite off Antonio's plate and popping it into my mouth. "I understand though." I glanced at Matthew before swallowing the food in my mouth. "It all comes back to the fact that you're dating that albino."

"Gilbert's not really that bad," Matthew said, glancing down at the table. "He can be really nice when he wants to…"

"That's apparently not often when I'm around."

"He's nice," Antonio added in defense of his friend. "But he prefers to mostly be loud and obnoxious."

"I've only really seen the loud and obnoxious side…"

"Well, besides Gilbert's tendency to try to be more obnoxious than me, I was the reason that you were found and caught the attention of Antonio," Alfred interrupted, looking at me. "I hadn't been at the ball that night, so I couldn't see who was chosen, but I do know Arthur came find me and told me he found someone perfect." He shrugged. "I'll be honest. I wasn't expecting someone like you."

"To be honest, I would've have expected it either," I told him, crossing my arms across my chest and leaning back in the chair. "If someone told me I'd be a woman for a night and catch the attention of the king by just sitting off to the side and talking to some random stranger, I would've never believed them. The king is happy, where as I'm a sour prick. Normally those two don't get along."

"And yet here we are, the day before your wedding," Matthew said with a smile. "You said that if you felt you two would have no chance, you'd have left by now. You're still here though."

"For the past few days, I haven't been able to grasp that," I admitted, staring out the window again. "I keep waking up and thinking 'It's a dream. I'll wake up from it soon.' Almost immediately after that I hear my door opening and Antonio asking if I'm awake."

"Ah sorry," Antonio apologized. "I'm trying to get to know you as much as I can before tonight."

"Tonight?"

"You two are not going to be allowed to see each other until the wedding tomorrow," Matthew explained. "That was actually why we came to find you two. That way you could come with me and Antonio could go with Alfred. You two actually need to be fitted for your clothes for the wedding. We put it off for as long as we could, trying to get everyone else fitted first, but there's no one else, so we had to come find you two…"

"Though you got to stay together for a little while longer since we were talking to both of you," Alfred stated before standing up. "Sadly that time has to end and you both need to get measured. If you're lucky you'll have some time after that, but I doubt it since you, Antonio, need to meet once more with the priest before your supper. While you're meeting with him, Lovino will have to eat and go meet with him after he's done."

"And you'll be sleeping in the same room with Feliciano and I," Matthew added, also standing. "We're there to make sure that Antonio doesn't try to come see you earlier, as Gilbert and Francis are doing the same for Antonio."

"They're trying to make sure I don't see him," I stated, assuming that was what he meant. He nodded his head in response. "It does sort of make sense if you think about it." I let out a sigh before standing myself. "Most couples are separated the night before the wedding, so I don't see why the king himself would be any different."

Antonio finally stood as well. "That's true…Any custom we have I basically have to follow."

"Do you two mind if I have only a minute more alone with Antonio?" I asked, looking over at Alfred and Matthew.

"Well…"

"We'll give you one minute," Alfred said. "And if anyone asks, I'll just say we were all distracted by the garden or something."

"It won't take longer than a minute," I assured the brothers. "I just want to tell Antonio something to be honest."

"We'll give you some privacy then," Matthew said, pushing his brother.

I waited until both of them were out and the door was closed behind them to move closer to Antonio's side.

"Is there something you had needed?" Antonio asked, tilting his head.

I nodded, wrapping my arms around his waist. "To be completely honest, I don't want our first kiss to be in front of everyone else." I lifted myself slightly on my toes, since Antonio was a few inches taller than me, and tilted my head so I could kiss the man on the lips. He hesitated for a moment or two before responding and wrapping his arms loosely around my neck.

It wasn't a passionate kiss and only really lasted a few seconds. But it was our first kiss together, and probably the same type of kiss we'd share for the wedding.

"Ah, that was unexpected," he said with a smile once our faces had separated.

"I preferred our first kiss together to be special and just us," I explained. "If we'll be together for the rest of our lives and actually have feelings for each other, I'd feel horrible knowing that our first kiss had to be in front of people I don't even know."

"You're so romantic," he said with a sigh.

"Just a little selfish I guess," I stated before removing my arms from his waist. He hesitated for a moment before removing his arms from around my neck. "Now we'll have to go our separate ways."

"I'll see you for the wedding then," Antonio told me, kissing my cheek. "I can't wait to be able to see you again."

"Surprisingly enough, I feel the same. You've grown on me and it feels weird for you not to be around me for any period of time."

* * *

**AN: Sorry for the confusion of anyone who's read these chapters as they came out. It'd be best for anyone, again who has read these as they came out, to reread chapter nine I believe? I had made a mistake somehow and a chapter had ended up missing. I think I've finally fixed it though.**


	12. Happily Ever After

The details of the wedding are none of anyone's business if they hadn't been there. Only high class snobs and friends of both of us had been there to see us get married.

It was a bit embarrassing for the priest to declare me queen, only for Antonio to request that I not be referred to as queen and for my actual title to be 'co-king.' I'd still be treated as a queen, but I wouldn't be called as such. My duties were that of the queen, taking care of things that apparently was important enough for the royal family to deal with, but not quite important enough to need to be handled by the king.

Anyway, the point is I'm not going to recall the wedding because the only people who needed to know about it were there.

After the wedding, it was fairly awkward for Antonio and I. We were allowed a whole wing to ourselves devoid of any life, since we were unable to be far from the kingdom without anyone there to take care of things, unless we used a bell and called for them. Obviously we were expected to react as normal couples would and celebrate our wedding with sex.

"I never knew we had this room," Antonio stated, looking around the fairly large room.

I was sitting at the table beside the window, watching the clouds in the sky.

"I don't know about most of the rooms in this castle," I stated. "The only places I've been were a few bedrooms, the kitchen, dining room, sitting room, and the stables."

"You've been to the stables?"

I turned away from the clouds as he sat at the table in front of me. "Yeah. It turns out that Duilio had been taken here after he had gotten hurt and Matthew took me to see him. Normally when I'm not with you Feliciano, Matthew, or Jeanne will come with me to see him."

"Maybe you can take me to see him after this?"

I nodded my head, not minding that he wanted to see Duilio. I still felt bad that he had gotten injured though when I was trying to get away from Matthew.

Antonio hummed in response and glanced around the room as I went back to staring at the clouds.

"This has to be one of the crappiest honeymoons ever," I finally stated after five minutes of silence.

"Well, it's not like we've known each other for long to really sleep together."

I shrugged. "Technically it doesn't matter how long you know someone. You can always have sex with them. It just depends on the people. If they treasure something like sex and only partake in the action when they love their partner, then it'd take longer for them to sleep together. If they find it a fun past time and do such things often, then they'd have slept together within the first week of their relationship. I'd prefer to love my partner before doing such things, and you respect me enough not to force yourself upon me without my permission."

"Well to be honest I'd prefer to love my partner before doing such things as well," Antonio admitted. My eyes drifted from the clouds and I saw that he was looking at me. "Call me a bit sappy, but I never wanted to have sex before I was married. I wanted to wait until I was happily in love and married before going to bed with someone. Francis happily slept with many women, and men if I'm completely honest, before he met Jeanne and I know they've slept together before their wedding. Gilbert…I think he had gone to bed with a woman once before meeting Matthew. They've yet to become engaged, but I do know that they've slept together quite a few times."

"My brother?" I asked, somewhat worried about the answer.

"I'm…not actually sure…I don't think he and Ludwig have gotten that far into their relationship. Feliciano loves to give hugs, and Ludwig is no exception to that rule. Ludwig isn't fond of his tackles though, because let's face it, he tackles instead of hugs. He does care for Feliciano, though he thought he was a girl at first to be honest. I see him walking in the garden holding Feliciano's hands sometimes, or kissing him when he least expects it in the hall when he thinks the rest of us aren't around. He's not forceful though, and Feliciano isn't one to push him to do something he doesn't want, so I don't think they've done anything yet."

"I see…"

"Ludwig wouldn't hurt him like that," he told me with a smile. "He's a kind man and hates making little Feli upset in any way."

"That's good…"

Antonio chuckled. "I don't think you'll have to worry about them for a while to be completely honest." I saw a faint blush creep into his cheeks. "To be honest, we're more likely to do something before they ever do."

I coughed, positive that I had a blush to match his coming into my own cheeks. "That's good, I guess. Is he really like that?"

"Like what?"

"Where he doesn't want sex."

"Oh. He cares more about just being happy with Ludwig than really engaging in such activities. Ludwig, according to what Gilbert has told Francis and I, is afraid of doing such things with Feliciano. We're not sure whether he's afraid to hurt Feli-or being hurt himself-or if he's just not ready yet. I heard Feliciano talking to Francis and Jeanne once, about it. He had said that he wouldn't mind going to bed with Ludwig, but Ludwig had told him he wasn't ready. Then again, it was only a week after they began their relationship."

I chuckled. "Sounds like our father. I remember him telling me that he had tried the same thing with our mother. She had immediately slapped him. He apologized and our mother wouldn't forgive him until he begged on his hands and knees, just for her own entertainment. Apparently it's a Vargas thing."

"I don't know if I'd refuse such an offer," Antonio admitted. "We are married after all."

I couldn't stop the undignified snort that came out. "I'm sure you wouldn't."

He shrugged. "It's not every day you get an offer to go to bed with a handsome man."

"Unless you're courting a Vargas," I stated, crossing my arms across my chest. "Then you'd be getting the offer quite often."

"When will I get the offer, since we're already married?" He grinned, showing he was joking with me.

"When you dance naked in the courtyard." I grinned back at him.

He glanced out the window, the grin still present on his face. "I dunno. I don't mind doing such a thing. I can go right now if you'd want."

"Such an undignified king I ended up with."

"Ah, but only the servants in the castle will see me anyway." He wiggled his eyebrows. "Does that mean I can get a handsome man in my bed?"

"Yeah, let me just go find one for you." I stood up, as though I were going to go through with what I said. "There's no good ones in this village though, so I'm going to have to travel to the next one over." Instead of heading to the door though, I just fell face first into the soft bed. "Wake me up later and I'll go ahead and find one for you."

I stayed where I was as I listened to Antonio getting up as well. At first, I thought he was going to the book shelf, but it turned out he walked toward me since I felt a hand on my back. "Move to be more comfortable. I'll give you a massage."

I lifted my head from where it rested to look at the king. "Where'd that come from?"

"I was thinking back to the wedding. You looked a bit uncomfortable and on the way here you were rubbing your back."

Instead of doing as he asked, I sat up. "If you want me to be comfortable, help me get the corset off."

Antonio blinked at that. "Corset? I thought only women wore those."

I shook my head. "I said the same thing. The tailor told me some men wear them to help them stand straighter, but they don't wear them quite as tight. He said that I should wear it to correct my slouch and I should continue to wear it until I can stand straight on my own. The string or whatever it is though is digging into my back and it's been annoying me all day. I was rubbing my back because I'm not use to standing completely straight, so my back is sort of sore."

He sighed before nodding. "I wish they wouldn't have done that. You were already uncomfortable enough about the wedding and then they had to shove you into a corset. Turn around and lift your shirt so I can figure out how to get it off."

Without argument, I did as he had said and crossed my legs. My shirt was lifted and held in front so it wouldn't fall.

"Well, it doesn't look quite as tight as I thought it would be."

"They weren't trying to change my shape. It was just to keep me standing straight."

I wasn't looking behind me, but I could just imagine Antonio nodding his head. "I guess that makes sense. I never had to worry about one because I was always taught to sit straight and never slouch."

I felt his hands touching my back, trying to pull the string holding the corset closed. "I wasn't taught such things. My life was doing chores. I was positioned in what was most comfortable at the time."

A hum escaped the man slowly loosening the corset on me. "Ah, you'll have to remove your shirt completely so I can pull the corset over your head. I don't think it's very fun to pull this string through all these holes, so I'm just going to loosen them enough to slide it off of you."

If I tried to remove my shirt now, it'd interrupt Antonio, so I decided to wait until he was done. It didn't take very long, probably two minutes at most.

It took longer to get me into it than out of it apparently.

"Okay, pull your shirt off."

I did as he said, pulling my shirt off before letting him pull the corset over my head. Once it was off, I pulled my shirt back on and fell forward onto the bed. To be honest, I was just laying there to be lazy and it caught me by surprise when I felt Antonio actually massaging my back.

"You don't really have to give me a massage," I told him, glancing over my shoulder. "I'll feel better after a nice nap."

"You deserve it." His face looked content, as though he had no problem massaging my back. He probably didn't have a problem with it to be honest. "You had worked hard before meeting me and then you were forced into acting as royalty. That can cause stress, quite a bit from the knots I feel in your back." He chuckled. "To be honest, it'll be easier the longer you deal with it. I'm rarely ever stressed nowadays, but I was almost always at wit's end when I first took over after my father died."

* * *

"What happened next fratello?" I looked up at my brother, who was smiling happily from the other end of the bed.

"Ah, we continued just talking about insignificant things for the rest of the day," I answered, leaning back into Antonio's arms. "We ended up doing that a lot for a month or so. As time went on, we felt more and more comfortable around each other and I became use to what would normally be the queen's duties."

"And you guys went to bed, right?" Feliciano asked. "You wouldn't have allowed Antonio to sleep with Sofia otherwise."

I nodded my head. "If you must know, yes, we did go to bed. Antonio didn't want to sleep with a surrogate mother until after he slept with me. Now that you've had your story, go play with Lucio."

"Okay! Maybe Ludwig will want to play with him too. Lucio's technically his nephew as well." He jumped from the end of the bed and took off to play with the year old prince.

Once he was gone, I noticed the grip around me tightened. "Everyone has their happy ending in this story," Antonio whispered in my ear. "Alfred and Arthur have each other, though I still dislike Arthur…Ludwig and Feliciano are happily married, Gilbert is trying to work up the guts to finally set a date for the marriage and make his and Matthew's relationship official, Francis and Jeanne are looking into a surrogate themselves, Sofia and Heracles come visit Lucio every other weekend, and you get to see your sister."

"You forgot the most important happy ending." I turned my head and kissed my husband's lips. "Ours."

Antonio smiled and kissed me back. "I could never forget our happy ending. Now…let's continue from where we left off earlier."

* * *

**AN: Yes this is how the story ends. It's not an April Fool's joke. And before anyone says anything about the details in this story, you guys must remember that this is a story being told by Lovino, and occasionally Antonio. The details are the ones that he wants to give.**

**Also, none of this story is based on a specific time. It's based on how I'd see the world of Cinderella acting. They have that Disney-like world, so I figure mistresses and such wouldn't be as liked (though I know in olden times they were expected, but...I don't think there were fairy godmothers back in olden times...)**

**Also, to the anon who sent those messages saying correct you if you're wrong...I couldn't (not that you were wrong) because you were anon. I do make mistakes, and I did go back and see the mistake I made. Francis's eyes are blue not green. Either someone could pretend they're green this whole story, or they could do like I did and just imagine the character and leave it like that xD I'm a very lazy person so the green will probably not be changed. And any other little details like that will be the same way. I'm human, so I do make mistakes.**

**On a final note, this story is concluded quickly. I do realize that. Again though, it's a story being told by Lovino. He says what he wants. Out of the story though, this story was concluded quickly to give me more time to work on my other Spamano fic and also to work on a fantasy fic I'm working on as well. The fantasy fic will have more plot than this silly little Cinderella plot. There will be more fluff, more action, more violence, more blood, more plot, and (maybe) more romance.**


End file.
